


The War Of The North

by FangirlDC



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:35:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 65,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FangirlDC/pseuds/FangirlDC
Summary: When innocent people lose their lives because of mysterious power, the Kingdom of Northern Island is no longer safe. In order to understand what's going on and defeat the evil, Prince Jack must find the Guardian of Enchanted Forest and save his people. The story sets after Frozen 2.
Relationships: Anna/Kristoff (Disney), E. Aster Bunnymund/Toothiana, Elsa (Disney)/Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Jamie Bennett/Jack's Sister
Comments: 7
Kudos: 41
Collections: Disney fics





	1. Einstök

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you’ll enjoy this story!

Blood.

Due to the sight of the blood, he immediately understood that something bad had occurred.

He let out a yelp in shock, placed his hands on his mouth as an instinct to silent his scream when the body collapsed on the wooden floor.

The young man swallowed and tried to streak his balance, however, he stumbled a little bit anyway. As his hearing sense was regained, the screams of innocent people were the only voices he could hear.

He tugged a piece of his chestnut brown colored hair behind his ear, attempted to control his increasing heartbeat. He walked towards the wooden door, avoided that he was stepping on the glass pieces with his shoes. He took a deep but shaky breath and opened the door with trembling hands.

His eyes grew bigger when he caught the glimpse of... horses? He laid his back on the wooden wall, his legs were wobbling in fear.

They weren't horses, they were monsters. They were black, had big yellow eyes that were shining...

He coughed blood, felt himself falling down and before he could comprehend what was happening, he was laying on the ground. Instinctively, his hands went to his stomach. When the bare hands sensed the cold metal, he lowered his head to see his stomach in pain. A massive arrow has just pierced his stomach, blood was flowing quickly out of his body, causing him to be weaker and weaker. While he was having his last breaths, someone snatched him from his chestnut brown hair.

The last thing he saw was dreadful, gruesome yellow eyes and a sickly, evil grin.

* * *

"Prince Jack! Wake up!"

The snow-white silvery haired man groaned and pulled the covers to himself, ignored the nineteen years old servant. "Five minutes more." he grumbled under his breath and snuggled to his soft pillow.

He heard Jamie's snort, but ignored it anyway. Nevertheless, the young servant didn't give up. He yanked the covers, caused the prince to grunt in annoyance.

"Jamie!" the prince cried with a childish voice.

When he opened his eyelids, he saw Jamie, scowling at him. This was a normal routine for them, however, Jamie's scowl wasn't playful... It was dead-serious.

Jack got up hastily, has already been heading to the closet to pick a shirt and change his clothes. "What's going on?" he asked while he was removing his shirt.

"Do you know Einstök?"

The young man scoffed but nodded his head. "Of course I do. It is a small village that is a part of my kingdom."

Jamie paused for a moment, Jack decided not to interrupt his internal crisis. "I heard two counselors talking. Einstök..." Jamie's voice trailed off, he was clearly struggling to choose his words. "It doesn't exist anymore."

* * *

"You are late." the auburn-haired, glamorous woman murmured under her breath after she approached him.

"Good morning to you too." Jack greeted her jokingly, but his features were impassive and stern.

He heard her sigh, even though he wasn't looking at her, he could almost feel her troubled expression. "Jack... The citizens..."

"We will find whoever caused this. I promise you, Katherine." he declared with determination, then turned his head to see his fiancee. She looked tired and sleepy, but also really anxious, as he had expected.

Katherine simply nodded her head and avoided her gray eyes away from him.

"Where are my father and brother?" Jack threw a question, caused all the counselors to focus on him.

"They should be on their way back to home from Einstök, your majesty." a quiet voice broke into the silence when the others did nothing but stare at the prince stupidly. The voice belonged to the main counselor of North, Sandy.

Jack cursed under his breath. He couldn't even wake up while his father and brother have already been departing to the village. A catastrophe has occurred and all he had done was waiting.

* * *

"King North of Northern Island and Prince Aster of Northern Island!" someone announced the two men respectively while everyone in the meeting room was bowing, except Jack.

"What's going on!?" the younger prince searched for an answer, didn't care about the fact that he should have been kept his unemotional posture.

Katherine nudged her fiance a bit hard, however, Jack didn't yelp in pain. On the contrary, he got up from his seat and moved toward his father and brother with quick steps.

"Jack, son, you should sit like the rest." his father, the king stated simply and gestured him to sit down. Nevertheless, being stubborn, Jack stood there, didn't remove his position.

His older brother, Aster let out a dramatic exhale, has already been massaging his forehead. "Citizens of Einstök... At least half of the population is dead. The other half is... Well, they are nowhere to be seen." he blurted out with an icy tone, his outlines were completely emotionless.

The air in the meeting room became colder within those words. Few counselors shuddered because of the sudden drop in temperature. They began to whisper in worry, but no one dared to raise their voice.

"What do you mean?" Katherine asked weakly before Jack could open his mouth. The young prince peeked at his fiancee, she seemed strong with her powerful attitude. Nevertheless, he could see her fear right through her gray eyes.

"You heard me." Aster grunted with a raspy voice while he was settling on his seat.

"We found black sand on the ground... Sandy, do you know what it means?" King North spoke once again, his voice was more collected than his two sons.

Sandy didn't respond. It was extremely impolite, even unacceptable to not respond to the king, but the main counselor was always quiet, definitely not a talkative guy. North didn't care anyway.

"Whoever did this... We shouldn't underestimate them. I can feel the evil..." North proceeded and then placed his hands on his stomach. "...Right inside my belly." he murmured under his breath.

"We need to plan our next move." Aster announced firmly.

"Bunny's right." Jack used his nickname, once again, avoided his fiancee's death glare. "We should first learn who our enemy is and what he is capable of."

"But how?" Sandy alluded whereas he was also standing up.

Bunny knitted his eyebrows. "What are you suggesting?"

Sandy's lips curled up slightly while he was tapping his cheek thoughtfully. "Black sand... It sounds like dark magic."

Jack swallowed, almost shuddered at the thought.

"Dark magic? There is no such thing like that!" a counselor cried out, he was almost chiding Sandy.

"What do you suggest, Sandy?" North ignored the counselor and focused on what Sandy had just claimed.

"There is a kingdom which is not far away... This kingdom is called Arendelle. All of you probably have already heard it." the yellow-haired man replied almost instantly. "According to a legend, trolls live near to Arendelle."

"Trolls? What are you rambling about?! A village had been under attack, people had died and we are talking about trolls!?" another counselor yelled in confusion.

"Your Majesty, I believe these trolls can help us to understand the power of the enemy."

When the other counselors began to talk loudly in denial, the king slammed his hands on the table, caused everyone to flinch and stop speaking. "Everyone except Jack, Aster, Katherine and Sandy... Get out." the king ordered sternly. The counselors left the room rapidly as soon as they heard their king.

"Sandy, we are going to Arendelle."

"I am also coming!" Jack proclaimed in excitement, didn't give his father the opportunity to continue.

"Jack-"

"Bunny can be in charge of the kingdom. I will come with you. I can't just sit here and wait!" the young prince exclaimed, interrupted his father once again.

"If he is going, so am I." Katherine asserted without hesitation.

"No... My dear daughter-in-law, I need you for another duty." North appeased Katherine with his calm voice, who was obviously distressed. "Emma doesn't know any about this and she is still in another kingdom. I need you to make sure that she will get home safely."

Katherine opened her mouth to speak, judging by the annoyed look on her face, she would reject North's request. Though, she halted and thought for a moment, then proceeded. "I will take my leave, then." she mumbled under her breath with determination.

She directed her gaze at her fiance one last time, put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "Be careful."

"I will." the snow-white silvery haired man pledged.

He would find whoever destroyed the village and took the innocent lives... And no matter that, Prince Jack of Northern Island would make them pay.


	2. Trolls

"Son."

The young man didn't flinch due to the unexpected voice. His head was still rested on the wall of the barouche. He was watching the view of Arendelle while the horses were moving calmly.

"We will be there in a couple of minutes." his father continued when the prince didn't bother to respond. Jack just sighed, his blue eyes refused to focus on his father or the main counselor...

Sandy told them he had met the trolls, he was the most trustworthy counselor in their kingdom, that's why Jack didn't doubt him. However, could the trolls really help them? He doubted that. After what happened to Einstök... He wasn't sure if anyone could find a solution to defeat the mysterious enemy.

When the coachman halted the horses, the snow-white silvery haired young man raised his head and stopped gazing at the landscape of the mountains. He should control his excitement, he didn't want to seem like a child in front of the trolls. So, he waited for his father and Sandy to leave the barouche. Then, with slow movements, he left there too.

"We'll walk a little. The coachman should stay here." Sandy informed them while he has already been wandering.

The father and son began to follow the short, yellow-haired man. They walked for a while, Jack was getting more and more impatient within every minute... Just when he was about to ask where they were going, Sandy finally stopped.

"Pabbie! I need to see you!" he shouted, not too loudly.

They were standing on a beautiful, breathtaking valley, which was full of colorful flowers. They waited awkwardly for a couple of minutes, nevertheless, Sandy didn't repeat his sentence, simply waited for the trolls.

This time, Jack decided to completely trust Sandy's behavior even though he still felt rather a bit skeptical.

Eventually, all of his suspension vanished when he felt the ground, shaking a little. This was it, the huge trolls were coming...

The young man's jaw dropped a little due to his shock when he saw round _rocks_ were rolling toward them. The rocks opened(?) after they arrived and now the prince was facing tiny... trolls?

"Sandy... My old friend, how may I help you?" a troll dismissed the silence, judging by the tone of his tone and the fact that he seemed more aged than the other trolls, he was definitely the oldest troll there.

"Hello, Pabbie... We need your help." Sandy immediately got the point, didn't bother to have a small chit chat.

When the old troll nodded, Sandy gestured North to continue. The king pursed his lips, then took a breath. "I am King North of Northern Island and this is my son, Prince Jack. As Sandy said, we need your help. Yesterday... Someone attacked our village. Half of the citizens were killed by an unknown power, the other half simply disappeared. My older son and I investigated the village and all we could find was... Black sand." North explained everything without hesitation.

The troll frowned a little after those words, he began to walk, drew tiny circles, was obviously too much deep in thought. "Black sand? Sounds like dark magic to me." he murmured under his breath.

As soon as Jack heard those words, he opened his mouth to tell Pabbie that Sandy had thought exactly the same. Nonetheless, a voice, probably belonged to a female interrupted him: "Pabbie? What's going on here?"

The prince turned around to see who was the owner of the voice. He found himself staring at a young woman and a young man. The young woman was strawberry blonde, she had turquoise blue eyes, fair skin and light freckles on her cheeks. The young man, he had brown eyes, was blond, taller and muscular than Jack.

"Who are you?" the strawberry-blonde interrogated them with a suspicious frown on her face.

"Kristoff!" a female troll shouted in excitement while the young trolls were jumping on the man joyfully.

"I am King North of Northern Island. This is my son, Prince Jack and my main counselor, Sandy." North greeted himself and the others once again patiently, ignored the trolls who were hugging the blond guy. "May I ask who you are, my lady?"

"I am Queen Anna of Arendelle and this is my fiance, Kristoff Bjorgman... Now, I want an explanation about why you are in Arendelle without my knowledge." the young queen ordered seriously.

"Your Highness, forgive us for our unexpected visit... We came here to consult my friend, Pabbie." Sandy answered immediately whereas he was pointing at the rock troll.

"That isn't an excuse. If I hadn't visited them, I wouldn't have seen you in the first place... How can I know you don't do something behind my back?" she pointed out cleverly, her tone was frigid and distant.

"Your Highness, do not worry. They are good people, or else we wouldn't appear in the first place." Pabbie appeased the queen, Anna of Arendelle.

The woman's features softened, a warm smile appeared on her face. "I apologize if I sounded hostile." she said politely. It was very unusual to witness a Queen apologizing but neither of them wanted to lose more time with the sudden appearance of the queen and her fiance.

"None taken." North murmured under his breath, then, they all turned their attention on Pabbie once again.

The old troll let out a small sigh which was barely audible. "I am afraid I don't exactly know what's going on either. I need to go to the village and investigate." he confessed, his eyebrows were tightly knitted together.

"We are leaving then?" Jack spoke for the first time since he had arrived at the troll valley, his voice sounded cool, but still a little enthusiastic.

"No... We are visiting someone else first," was the troll's only reply.

* * *

"So, um, so far how's Arendelle?" Kristoff let out a random question awkwardly to dismiss the uncomfortable silence.

"It looks quite peaceful here... And definitely beautiful." Jack complimented the place Kristoff has been living. He tried to sound as friendly and cheerful as possible.

"Well, you are welcomed here once you solve this... issue of yours." the blond-haired guy noted, he sounded sincere of his words.

"We will." Jack offered him a small, sympathetic smile... Nevertheless, he quickly lost his attention on Kristoff when he saw four huge rocks, standing on the grass.

Seriously, what kind of an obsession this place had with rocks?

"Fire, air, water and earth... Each of those rocks resembles an element." Anna clarified when she saw the bewildered look on Jack, North and Sandy's faces, caused them to be even more baffled.

"Kristoff! Anna! Hey guys!" a sudden male voice appeared out of nowhere. A man with light blue eyes and brunet hair was heading toward them.

"Hi Ryder!" Kristoff greeted them as the two made a special handshake. They were clearly good friends, Anna was also grinning merrily.

"Honeymaren! How are you?" the strawberry blonde basically squeaked when she saw a woman approaching them.

The woman had light brown eyes, her long, braided hair was swinging a little when she walked. She offered an elegant smile to the Queen. "I am doing wonderful, Anna. I hope everything's fine in Arendelle?" she raised a question with a polite manner while Ryder and Kristoff were having a serious conversation about... reindeer?

"Yeah, of course! These guys though..." Anna pointed at them casually with a strained laugh, "They have so much going on in their country."

"Their country?" Honeymaren popped out another question, this time she sounded undoubtedly curios. She was raising her eyebrows while Ryder and Kristoff were finally quitting their conversation.

"Well, you see, we are coming from another land called 'Northern Island'. I am-" Jack's explanation faded away when he felt a sudden... chillness. That chillness gave shivers down his spine, caused him to be perplexed, so naturally, he frowned.

Then, he caught the glimpse of the sight of a... horse. However, the horse wasn't a horse that once could see in their daily lives. It was made from... water?

Nevertheless, the horse had impressed Jack just for a second. What had actually affected him was... A woman.

She had very pale skin, a slender feminine shape. Her exquisite, really long platinum blonde hair was waving freely due to the wind, she had red rosy lips and makeup on her face. And those eyes. She had the most beautiful blue eyes he has ever seen... She was the most beautiful woman he has ever cast his eyes on.

The platinum blonde got off the horse, then patted his head lightly. She was wearing a lovely white gown... She was simply breathtaking, stunning.

He eventually realized that his jaw was dropped to the ground, so he shut down his mouth, scolded himself for making a fool of himself. He was a prince, not a stupid, horny looking man!

Nonetheless, he also realized that the woman has been staring at him too, her eyes seemed so focused that he got the impression she was also analyzing him. Besides the fact she was concentrated on him, she was also standing right in front of him, they were a bit close, given by the fact that they were strangers.

Jack slowly lifted his right hand, it was at the same level as his chest. The young woman raised her left hand almost immediately after. Hence, their hands unhurriedly got closer.

When he felt her palm touching his, he quivered. Her hand felt so soft, so soothing that made him feel he should be only holding her hand, not someone else's. It also felt...

Cold.

Jack knew how the heat felt like. Whenever he touched someone, they felt always hot, even though when people were too cold, he felt warm when he sensed their skin. However, this feeling... This feeling was the opposite of the heat. It made him shudder, his breath hitch.

"You feel cold... I've never sensed the cold before." Jack admitted easily, his eyebrows were still knitted together. He rested his blue eyes on hers, she accepted the eye contact, didn't avoid him.

"I've sensed it before. Though, it was unpleasant. But you feel..." her rich, extremely delightful voice trailed off, she averted her gaze away from him, almost in embarrassment.

"Pleasant." he finished what she was intending to say.

Now, he was glancing at those amazing blue eyes once again. "Yeah." she mumbled quietly, her lips were curled up warmly.

"I am Jack." the prince introduced himself when they simultaneously removed their hands. Instantly afterward, he felt the lack of her touch, had no choice but to ignore it.

"Elsa." the young woman replied curtly.

No formalities, no fancy titles, no unnecessarily too much decency.

"Well, this isn't awkward." Anna commented when they finally turned their attention on the others, who were witnessing their interaction for the whole time.

"Anna." Elsa called out her name to warn her.

The strawberry blonde grinned sheepishly, then took a step closer to the platinum blonde and wrapped her arms around her. Jack noticed their similarity, they look alike. Perhaps, they were sisters.

"I missed you so much!" Anna squealed and hugged her tighter.

"We saw each other yesterday." Elsa replied with a low chuckle. She slowly broke the hug, then embraced Kristoff. After that, she finally fixated her gaze on North and Sandy. "Hello, my name is Elsa... You look a bit pale. Are you okay?" she introduced herself, then asked North's condition.

North nodded, he indeed looked tired. "Yes... I am King North of Northern Island and this is my main counselor Sandy." he said the sentence for the hundredth time on that day.

"Elsa... Their kingdom is in danger because of unknown power. They've asked my help but unfortunately, their justification is not enough. I want you to come with me and investigate a village, in which people vanished or were killed. If the enemy is someone mastered at dark magic... I believe Arendelle is also in great danger." Pabbie spoke slowly to give the young woman the opportunity of digesting those words.

Elsa stared at North, Sandy and Jack one by one, then nodded with great determination. "Okay, Pabbie. I'll come with you."

"I am coming too!"

"Anna." Elsa spoke with a tough tone. "You are the Queen. You can't just leave Arendelle."

"I can't just leave my sister alone." the strawberry blonde argued stubbornly, her tone was scolding, her expression looked slightly angry.

Jack frowned at those words. As he suspected, they were sisters. Elsa was clearly the older sister, she seemed more mature than Anna. However, she wasn't the Queen... Why?

"She won't be alone." Honeymaren spoke all of a sudden while she was placing her hand on Elsa's shoulder. The two women exchanged a brief smile.

"I will be fine, Anna. I promise you. I will just investigate the area." Elsa made a vow to her sister, who was clearly extremely worried.

Those words made him remember the promise between he and Katherine.

_"Be careful."_

_"I will."_

He hoped both his fiance and his sister Emma were doing okay. Emma was on a vacation and Katherine was simply bringing back home, he doubted something bad could happen to them. Still, he kinda felt anxious.

All of his worries perished when he made eye contact with her though. Her deep, kind and lovely blue eyes...

Shit.


	3. Into The Unknown

The ship left Arendelle as quickly as possible as the immense sea was hitting the ship with its waves. Arendelle, its harbor, castle was resting on the horizon, slowly fading away.

"You okay?" Jack directed a question to Honeymaren when he approached next Elsa and her. The brunette was hugging herself, Elsa's hand was on her shoulder, she was caressing it softly.

The two women stopped watching the view of Arendelle and turned around to face Jack, almost simultaneously. Honeymaren seemed clearly distressed, her face was sulky and she was biting her upper lip.

"I've never left Northuldra before, let alone going to another country... It feels weird to leave my home and even weirder to be apart from my brother." she confessed with a low sigh whereas Elsa was rubbing her back to appease her.

Jack offered her a smile that was full of empathy. "Leaving your home is always hard because you are afraid of the unkown. However, that's how you can experience adventures... I believe everyone needs to take risks in order to have some fun." he attempted to soothe her as best as he could.

"We should accept the risks that leading us into the unknown." Elsa agreed with him whereas she was nodding. The platinum blonde locked her blue eyes on him and sent him a warm, delicate smile, Jack beamed at her too.

Honeymaren swallowed and shut down her eyelids, the reopened them. "Thanks. I'll go and rest now." she murmured under her breath, let out a weak smile before she left with shaky steps. She seemed almost sick.

"Is she okay?" Jack asked Elsa in worry when Honeymaren was completely gone.

"She needs some alone time. It was hard for her to leave Northuldra, she basically spent all of her life there." the young beautiful woman responded to him and pursed her lips in sympathy.

"She must value you so much." he commented gently. Honeymaren was obviously there in order to keep Elsa safe.

"Yeah, she does." Elsa responds curtly and directs her head once again to the sea. Now, the view of Arendelle completely vanished.

Jack was standing next to her, he struggled with himself if he should leave or not. He didn't want to bother her. Eventually, he decided to trust his instincts, so he stayed. They've just watched the view of the cold sea for minutes, until Elsa broke the silence.

"So, prince huh?"

The snow-white silvery haired young man let out a low chuckle. "Yep." he said while emphasizing the 'p'. "May I ask you a question?"

"About why I am not the Queen?" Elsa instantly guessed what he wanted to ask. When she met silence, she continued. "I was the Queen of Arendelle until a few months ago."

"And now you are living in Northuldra. Why are you not leaving in Arendelle with your sister?" Jack questioned her, after a few seconds he realized he was being rude so he opened his mouth to apologize. "Sorry, if I sounded oppressive and crossed the line."

Elsa shook her head and chortled. "Don't worry, you didn't. I live in Northuldra because there is an Enchanted Forest there and I am the Guardian of the Enchanted Forest."

"Guardian?"

"Yes. Fire, air, water and earth. You have seen one of them, the water horse, Nokk. These four elements rule the forest. I am the fifth spirit, the bridge between the four spirits and humans. In the other side of the bridge, there is Anna. Our mother was from Northuldra, our father was from Arendelle. Anna and I keep the balance." she retorted, tried to explain to make his foggy mind clear.

Jack's eyes grow bigger as he listened to her... She was so awesome. He kinda envied her. She was free, a guardian who protected people and magical creatures while he was just a boring, unimportant prince.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Elsa asked and tugged a piece of hair behind her ear whereas her cheeks were flushing, turning into a deep color of red.

"You are so cool!" Jack blurted out enthusiastically. The platinum blonde laughed at that, then thanked him.

Soon, the comfortable silence between them began once again. The sun was setting on the horizon, the horizon was colored in yellow, orange, red and pink, presenting them a breathtaking view.

"I always thought I was alone." she whispered with a voice that he could barely hear. He observed her eyes for a second. They reflected her sadness.

He bit his bottom lip a little and raised his head. "Me too. I thought I was alone in the world. That no one could ever understand me... Until I met you." he also replied with a whisper.

Without saying anything, at the same time, they lifted their palms and formed a snowflake. His snowflake looked more basic than hers, hers was much more detailed.

"It is beautiful." she gasped at his snowflake while the sunlight was illuminating her beautiful features.

"Yours is too." he mumbled silently, his gaze was still locked on her snowflake.

* * *

"We will be in Einstök soon." Sandy informed them while the barouche was moving in a hurry.

North invited their guests to the castle and rest a little, but Pabbie and Elsa declined his offer kindly, told him that they wanted to go to Einstök as soon as possible. Since North was the king and he had a huge amount of duties, only Sandy and Jack escorted Pabbie, Elsa and Honeymaren to the village. They didn't visit Einstök after the catastrophe, so they were also curious.

Jack eyed at Elsa for a brief moment. When their ship travel was finally finished, she changed her white dress. Now, she was wearing a blue coat, cape, pants, snowflake adorned ice boots and a shorter white dress. Her long hair was shaped in a French braid, she had snowflake clasps attached to her platinum blonde hair.

When the barouche finally halted, all of them exchanged eye contact for a brief moment. Sand opened the door and left the barouche, the others followed him one by one. Only Jack remained there.

He pulled out his wooden staff, which was hidden under the seat they've been sitting on. Just in case, if something bad happens, he should be capable of protecting himself and the others.

Blood.

Blood was the first they saw. The corpses were buried but their blood still remained.

Honeymaren gasped in terror, Elsa brought her hands to her mouth, a deep frown came across Pabbie's face, Sandy gulped, somehow was loud enough to make him hear them.

Jack, however, he just stood there, his body was refusing to move a single muscle. While desperately trying to digest the terrifying view, he took a step forward. His legs fumbled, but he did not attempt to intervene. He simply let his knees drop on the ground. He grasped the grass and made a fist, let go of his staff, was completely aware of his tremble.

He took his staff and stood up eventually, eyebrows were tightly knitted together, his face looked impassive and stern more than ever. "We came here to find out what's going on. Let's not waste our time." he declared dryly and began to walk.

Earlier today, a team, full of men were chosen to be in charge of cleaning the mess and the blood. Nevertheless, their job wasn't easy. Nearly all the buildings were destroyed, only a small wooden hut and few houses were left.

Pabbie stooped and touched the black sand which was laying on the ground. When he brushed his fingers to each other, the sand on his rock fingers vanished slowly. The others gathered around him curiously, crouched down to take a closer look at the sand.

"Sandy..." Pabbie's thick, baritone voice trailed off.

Sandy shuddered, his light brown eyes were glancing at the black sand in... surprise. Jack has never seen Sandy surprised before. He was always sure of himself.

"The black sand. It leads to somewhere!" Honeymaren exclaimed, burst in excitement. She began to follow the track with fast steps.

Elsa stood up, then Jack, then they were all going after her, the atmosphere was getting tenser and their heartbeats were becoming quicker.

The trail finished soon after, it guided them to the small wooden hut. Instinctively, Jack gripped his staff tighter and directed it toward the door, Elsa has already been beginning to form a weapon to attack.

Honeymaren exhaled and inhaled deeply, narrowed her eyes and then turn on the knock of the door without hesitation.

Elsa sent an ice blast as soon as Jack saw something black. However, her shot obviously missed the target because nothing happened to the blackness. A horse which was made from black sand was literally running in the air, he was fuming and his yellow eyes were gleaming.

The prince tried to shoot the magical horse with his staff, but the horse managed to run away from it.

"He is getting away!" Elsa shrieked when the horse began to fly to the sky.

But she was wrong, he wasn't struggling to escape. The horse suddenly turned and moved toward them with a great amount of speed. The duo sent him their ice repeatedly, but they couldn't get a response from their attack. Although somehow one of them managed to hit his leg, the horse didn't seem affected.

Jack's eyes grew wider in horror when the horse aimed at Elsa. He began to fly towards her, was aware that he was seen by the citizens who were in duty. He never showed his powers in public but the hell with it, an innocent life mattered more. He managed to snatch Elsa and pull her away before the horse could whack at her.

However, the horse did not slow down, was not even taken aback by the sudden disappearance of his enemy. He rapidly moved to his next target.

Elsa cried out Honeymaren's name whereas Jack has already been flying to save her as hastily as possible. Nonetheless, the horse has already approached the woman, who was trying to defend herself with a sword.

Jack screamed in panic when the horse attacked her with his all might. Honeymaren blocked her face with her arms...

The horse didn't touch her though.

Jack landed on the ground and Honeymaren removed her arms. The horse was floating on the air without being able to move because Sandy... He was holding the horse thanks to his... golden-yellow sand.

Sandy has just formed magical sand with his bare hands to clutch and incarcerate the horse.

"I can't hold him tighter!" the yellow-haired little man shouted as an announcement.

"Sandy! Release him, if he runs away, he can lead us to his owner!" Elsa yelled as she has been running toward them.

"None of us are fast enough to catch up with him!" Honeymaren pointed out an argument.

The platinum-haired woman directed her gaze to the prince. "No. Jack is. Jack, you will follow him as soon as he flies away... And take me with you." she ordered him with a determined tone.

Jack was certain that she was a great queen before she abdicated the throne. He nodded immediately and lifted Elsa, was now carrying her in a bridal style. "Sandy! We are ready!" Elsa declared.

Sandy's golden sand vanished, he released the horse. Elsa's assumption was right, the horse began to fly away from them.

"Hold on tight." he commanded as his grip on her tightened. The platinum blonde obeyed his demand and wrapped her arms from his neck.

"Thank you for saving me back there." she mumbled quietly.

"It's the least I could do." he replied shortly, then began to float and speed up to go after the black nightmare.

"I've sensed your ability to manipulate ice and snow but it has never come across to my mind that you could fly." the stunning woman in his arms remarked.

They've been floating in the air for half an hour. Jack managed to stabilize the distance between them and the black horse. The flying horse didn't notice he was being followed whereas they weren't losing his trail.

"What can I say? I am full of surprises." he hummed cockily, caused the platinum blonde to chuckle in amusement.

The duo's good mood dismissed when they saw the view in front of them though. They were flying toward North Mountains, as the name suggested, the mountains were laying on the north side of Northern Island.

Jack used to visit North Mountains from time to time when he was younger. Back then, he would go there alone to gather his thoughts whenever he felt down... Although there wasn't a castle at the time. A huge, black castle which was extremely scary looking, was resting on the mountain as if it has always been there. The view gave Jack goosebumps.

He landed on a small hill when they got close enough to the castle. They were still miles away from the castle, so they waited for a couple of minutes until the black horse arrived at the castle. He entered there from some kind of a black hole and finally disappeared completely.

"We should tell here to the others." Jack declared his thoughts and once again grabbed Elsa softly, lifted off and began to fly to his home.

"We need a plan." Elsa asserted with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Jack ceased for a brief moment, then took off again. He was aware that he was narrowing his eyes due to his bewilderment and tension. "Elsa... Are you sure about staying? About fighting agaist the enemy? This isn't your fight. You can go home and stay there in safety.

He didn't want Elsa, Honeymaren and Pabbie to be involved in this mess. They were innocent people who were doing nothing but to help them without even demanding something from them, without selfish profits. He didn't want them to get hurt.

A sincere, lovely smile occurred on Elsa's fascinating face, her mesmerizing blue eyes were staring at him sympathetically. "Into the unknown, remember?"


	4. Fun vs Fear

They floated peacefully whereas the wind was whistling not too forcefully. Elsa felt rather a bit uncomfortable by the fact that a guy she has met two days ago was wrapping his arms around her and carrying her.

She wasn't disturbed by Jack's touch, on the contrary, she was disturbed that his touch wasn't bothering her, not at all.

She never let her guard down and trust people that easily, she even spent a little bit of time to completely trust the people of Northuldra. Of course, she believed that the people of Northuldra were good-hearted, but she didn't count on them about being accepted by them... Elsa always had doubts on that issue. Whenever she met someone, she was scared that they wouldn't like her because of her powers.

Jack was an exception. Maybe it was because of his powers, or the way his warm smile reached his eyes... Nevertheless, she felt utterly safe around him.

Before she could realize, they have already been landed. Elsa blinked severely when she felt the soil underneath her boots. She slowly removed her eyes away from the ground as Jack flashed her an apologetic smile.

"My people... They don't know about my powers. I shouldn't even have used them in Einstök, I am pretty sure someone saw me. We are close to the center now, it would be better to go to the castle on foot." he explained, now his smile turned into a bitter one.

Elsa knitted her eyebrows in bewilderment as they began to walking. She thought everybody knew his powers. "Who does know about your powers?" she asked curiously.

"Apart from you, Honeymaren, Pabbie and Sandy, my family, my best friends and a couple of servants know it." he replied bluntly.

Her scowl deepened at the words. "What about Sandy's powers?" she questioned him, knowing well that she was being persistent.

Jack pursed his lips and shook his head. "I thought I was the only one who had powers, I didn't know Sandy had them." he answered, shrugging nonchalantly. "We are hiding, I guess?"

"Why?" she popped out, a little bit timidly.

His blue eyes darkened at those words. "Years ago, an evil might with dark magic attacked my kingdom. I was born during the war so I don't remember anything about it. Many citizens were killed, buildings were destroyed... The citizens are still afraid of magic. I don't want to disturb them."

An evil might? Now, she was even more curious but the prince seemed like he didn't want to talk about it further. Therefore, Elsa didn't say anything afterward, simply let the silence intervene in their conversation. Still, she didn't omit to take a glimpse at the young prince.

He was handsome, she had to admit that. Even in their first meeting, she was intrigued by his good-looking features. She wasn't the type of person who immediately got caught by people's looks. All in all, she never observed people because of their beauty.

Nonetheless, Jack... He was a little bit taller than her, had a slim figure. He had an adorable messy snow-white silvery hair, a pale skin just like hers. He had the most beautiful blue eyes. They were so deep and had such an amazing shade of blue, they were full of life. And his smile... His smile was a cure, he could make literally everyone, even the most grumpy person grin with that powerful smile.

Elsa tumbled, found herself sitting on the ground. Her eyes grew bigger in surprise, then she rested her gaze on the young man who was laughing at her. Jack was holding a snowball on his hand, he was repeatedly tossing it to the air and then catching it.

"Honestly, my queen, it is improper to secretly peek at someone." he mocked her with a teasing smirk on his face.

Elsa felt herself burning in shame. "And it is highly inappropriate of a prince to make fun of a lady." she managed to dismiss her embarrassment and taunt him back.

"Oh please, at least I am not a pervert." he replied playfully as soon as those words left her mouth.

Not letting herself to be humiliated by those words, Elsa narrowed her eyes and shaped a snowball, then threw at him as fast as she could. Nonetheless, Jack easily blocked her shot with his staff, then began to bombard series of snowballs.

Elsa blocked those snowballs by making a shield as she stood up, then she ran away from his merciless attacks. He was obviously experienced at snowball fights... She and Anna usually preferred to make snowmen or sledding.

"You are on, Jack!" she shouted at him, attempted to sound angry but knew that her voice sounded lively and amused. She hurled another snowball at him. He slipped away before it could hit him on the chest, however, it slammed on the left side of his wait.

"I never lost a snowball fight before, my queen!" he yelled cheerfully and continued to fire on her with his huge amount of snowballs.

"I am not a queen!" she growled, was slightly annoyed by that stupid nickname so she fired him dozens of snowballs at once.

A few of them crashed him, but not enough to shut his damn mouth up. "Really? You look like a Queen. Elegant, clever, ambitious... Did I mention extremely feisty and serious?" he mocked her and suddenly began to fly, blasted her small but strong snowballs without showing pity.

"You are cheating!"

"I am using my powers!"

The nerves he had! She would have never guessed he could be so childish! Realizing that she was getting impatient and more irritated, Elsa decided to have an end with this snowball fight. She didn't like losing, she was surely going to have the victory.

So, she was drawn into a conclusion... She was going to manipulate him. "Okay! You win!" she admitted her 'defeat' in fake frustration and pouted to be convincing.

Jack ceased flying and approached her with a smug smirk on his face. Elsa rapidly created a massive snowball and tossed it on him, the snowball smashed him without he could even register, judging by the dumbfounded look on his face. Jack staggered and collapsed on the ground, was stuck in the snow pile.

"Hey! Not fair!" he argued, annoyance was drawn into his handsome features.

"I was merely using my powers." she teased, a fake smirk spread over to her face while she was walking toward him to save him from the huge snow pile.

Just when she was about to offer her hand, she felt something pulling her. Jack was still holding his staff, so he used it to grab her waist and dragged her into the mess. The platinum blonde also fell, found herself laying next to him.

"Now we are even." he noted and stood up, then offered his hand to help her. They shook off the snow on their outfits and continued to walk.

"That was the most childish behavior that I've ever seen from an adult. You even managed to pass Anna." the young woman couldn't help but comment cheekily.

Those words destroyed his happy mood completely. Elsa's breath hitched when she felt the aura around them became colder. "Jack, are you okay?" she asked his condition in worry and reached to his arm, but he declined her touch by backing off a little.

"You're right, I guess I am childish." he tried to brush it off by laughing, but his laugh was forced and weak.

"I didn't mean to disrespect you with that word." she attempted to explain.

"I know." he said quietly, then locked his exquisite blue eyes on hers. "I am sorry. A lot of people call me childish as an insult. Bratty, irresponsible, problematic, annoying... This is how I am defined. S-Sorry for bothering you with my nonsense." he rambled hastily.

"People called me a monster." she spoke silently, avoided his gaze.

"You?" Jack exclaimed in shock, his outlines became confused, his jaw dropped to the ground. "A monster? How could people say that to you? You are the opposite of a monster!" he claimed with a burst in denial.

Elsa couldn't help but beam a litte. "I used to believe in them. But now I don't because I understood they don't have the right to judge me like that. I didn't mean to judge you with that word. I find you, being childish as a good trait. You are full of life, optimistic and good-hearted... I am sorry once again." she soothed him dearly.

That seemed to calm him down, his stressed posture relaxed, a bright grin appeared on his captivating face. "You are really cool, Elsa. I wish we could have met earlier." he whispered softly.

Her lips curled up in delight. She had thought the same thing back in the ship. "Well, we do know each other now. That's what matters."

When he flashed her his cute, adorable smile, from the bottom of her heart, she truly hoped she would be able to get to know him better.

* * *

"Jack! Jack!" enthusiastic and joyful voices yelled simultaneously, caused Elsa to flinch in surprise. They had left the forest not so long ago and now the center of Northern Island and the castle was nearer to them.

A bunch of children surrendered them as soon as they approached a settlement, they were twirling around them merrily, each of them was trying to get the young prince's attention.

"Hey kids!" Jack greeted them with a great amount of cheerfulness as he ruffled a ginger headed boy's hair.

"Jack, who is this?" a ginger headed girl, whose hair was braided, directed her index finger at Elsa innocently.

The snow-white silvery haired glared directly into her eyes, there was a genuine smile on his attractive face. "That's Elsa. She is from Arendelle, she came here to help us." he introduced her briefly to the children as if he had been a close friend of her for such a long time.

A brunette girl shyly eyed at Elsa. "You are so pretty." she claimed timidly, she was avoiding the young woman's gaze.

"I know, right?" the prince agreed with the brunette infant. He flashed her a dazzling smile, gave her goosebumps.

The platinum blonde couldn't help but grin at those words, even though she did her best attempt to hold it. She didn't anticipate Jack to say something like that so bluntly, he wasn't ashamed at all. Meanwhile, Elsa was one hundred percent sure that she was as red as a tomato. Her cheeks were burning and hopefully, she wasn't flushing further.

"T-Thank you much." Elsa managed to stutter out to the girl.

"Jack?" a boy, who seemed younger than everyone due to his height, called out his name and pulled the sleeve of his trousers at both ends to catch his attention.

"Yes, Bram?" the young man crouched down and carefully held the boy, almost in a protective manner. Elsa's heart literally melted at that sight.

"I am scared. Mommy and daddy are too." the toddler said, his eyes were full of fear.

Jack embraced the little boy instantly. "Hey, Bram, There is nothing to be worried about!" he intended for soothing the boy with a carefree tone. "I promise, no harm will come to you, your family and friends." he pledged seriously.

Elsa commenced biting her bottom lip due to her nervousness, she could feel the tension, the fear between the children. She wanted to appease them, tell them everything was going to be alright... However, that was a lie. She doubted if things could go back to normal soon.

"Who wants to play a game? Sheesh, honestly, I am a bit bored!" Jack dismissed the heavy mood. Although the others were scared and anxious, he had an enormous grin on his face. "How about we play and seek?"

The youngsters nodded hesitantly. Elsa decided to help Jack. "I'll count then!" she exclaimed, made an effort to sound as cheerful as possible.

The following event escalated quickly, they played hide and seek, then played another round, another, another... They should have been at the castle by now, Honeymaren, Pabbie and Jack's family were probably worried.

Nonetheless, here they were: two adults, playing hide and seek with children. Presumably there would be an upcoming war, many deaths, sorrows, and pains... Still, they were laughing, giggling, simply having fun.

The children were calling the prince just Jack, he wasn't a prince in their eyes. Unmistakably, he was like a big brother to them. So, as time went, children also began to call her just Elsa. She felt incredibly pleased, heart-to-heart with them because of their warm gazes and sincere laughter. Especially Jack... Even though it hasn't been long since their first meeting, he didn't feel like a stranger. He felt more intimate.

"1...2...3...Em?" Jack suddenly halted counting. He was sneaky, he must have peeked at outside instead of shutting his eyelids fully. The children stopped searching for a place to hide, they all stared Jack with annoyance.

Elsa wasn't irritated though, she was curious. She was interested in who was this girl, standing right in front of Jack. The girl looked like she was around eighteen years old, she was auburn-haired and had beautiful brown eyes... Her appearance was really similar to Jack's.

"Brother! I suspected you were here!" the girl shrieked exuberantly and literally threw herself into his arms.

"Emma! You came back!" he chirped happily and returned to his sister's hug back. Elsa let out a loving smile, felt extremely overwhelmed by them. Their relationship reminded her she and Anna.

Emma broke the embrace slowly, raised an eyebrow at Jack with a hint of scolding expression. "You should have been in the meeting, not with children." she chided her older brother.

The prince rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly. "We were just having some fun!" he defended himself.

"Whatever." Emma rolled her eyes, but meanwhile, her lips were curling toward up. "It is time to say goodbye to them!"

Jack nodded almost reluctantly and returned his attention to the kids. Whereas the children were jumping with excitement and twirling around Jack once again, Emma came closer to Elsa. "My name is Elsa, it is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness." the platinum blonde politely introduced herself.

Emma simply snorted and offered her a friendly handshake, which she gladly accepted it. "Emma is fine... I hope my brother didn't cause trouble?" she asked kindly.

Elsa shook her head. "No, not at all!" she said and offered Emma a small smile to reassure her. Then, both of them rested their gaze on Jack, who was playing with the kids once again.

"He always does this. Whenever someone is feeling nervous, he always plays games to have some fun and relax." the auburn-haired mumbled so that the children and Jack couldn't hear her.

A baffled frown spread over Elsa's features as she discovered the reason why they had a snowball fight earlier. She was really tense and apprehensive so Jack challenged her to make her loosen up a little.

He tried to make people happy and spared his time for them, although his kingdom and many lives were in danger. Nevertheless, that didn't mean he was irresponsible because Elsa could feel her in veins that Jack was distressed too.

His behavior was a sign that he cared about her and the children.

The platinum blonde blinked severely and bit her bottom lip, put her best effort not to stare at the snow-white silvery haired man. She felt flattered, there was a warm feeling inside of her heart.

That was the exact moment when she had vowed herself that she would never leave their side and help the kingdom, even if it meant that there was a considerable chance of losing her life.

"Yeah, I know... That's what makes him special." she finally responded to Emma thoughtfully.


	5. The Meeting

"You idiot!" the young man who was around Emma's age shouted loudly at Jack and then trapped him in a tight embrace.

Elsa raised her eyebrows. Seems like no one cared about the fact that Jack was a prince, everyone treated him like a normal person. She really liked how he didn't patronize people. The young man was obviously a servant in the castle, but they seemed close... If only people were Jack, if only they didn't have their nose in the air.

"Ow! Jamie! I can't breathe!" Jack squeaked and tried to retreat, but the brunet guy just wouldn't let him go.

Then, across from the hallway, a black-haired woman, who had colorful hairpieces attached to her hair, basically ran toward them. Jamie broke the hug when he saw the woman who seemed a bit older than Jack and Elsa. Now, the woman was the one who crushed him into a loving hug. "Jackson Overland of Northern Island! Where the hell were you?!" she screamed at him with a chiding tone.

"Elsa... This is my best friend Jamie and my mother Toothiana, Tooth for short." the prince ignored their comment and introduced them to the amused woman from Arendelle.

Tooth rolled her brown eyes. "I am not his mother... I was merely worried about him." she grumbled, but her behaviors from earlier showed the opposite. Sure, it was impossible that she could be his biological mother, but Tooth seemed she was a motherly figure to Jack, Elsa discerned that in a brief moment.

"Nice to meet you, Elsa!" Jamie squealed excitedly, she found herself having an enthusiastic handshake with him.

Then, she was pulled into a hug by Tooth. "I hope you like here!" the woman chirped happily.

"Guys, don't scare her off!" Emma opened her mouth for the first time since they had arrived at the castle and saved Elsa much to her relief. She wasn't used to that much of friendliness from people she has just met.

"Oh, yeah... Sorry." Jamie stuttered out as he rubbed the back of his neck and blushed for some reason.

Tooth's face stiffened, her cheerful expression no longer remained. She fixed her servant outfit and cleared her throat. "They are waiting for you in the meeting room." she declared, almost with an uncharacteristic dark tone.

Jack's eyebrows formed to a scowl as he nodded slowly. "Alright... We should go then." he said calmly and gestured Elsa to follow him.

"I am also coming." Emma remarked behind them and soon, she was walking next to them.

After a couple of minutes, they ceased in front of an enormous door. Emma stared at Jack and her, implied she was waiting for them to make the first move. Elsa turned her head to Jack. The prince let out a deep exhale and slowly opened the door. Then, they entered with heavy steps.

"Elsa!" Honeymaren yelled out her name as soon as she saw her. The brunette basically jumped on her, clasped her arms around her.

"Hi Honeymaren." she greeted her, hugged her back as she sent Pabbie a look also to greet him.

There were six people in the meeting room and now that they've arrived, they were nine in total. Jack, Emma, Honeymaren, Pabbie, North, Sandy... Elsa only didn't recognize two of them: a guy who had auburn hair and sparkling green eyes and a woman was also auburn-haired. A particular lock of her hair was fallen into place over her right eye. She had a heart-shaped face, the most beautiful gray eyes that Elsa has ever seen. Judging from both of their elegant postures, they were probably royals.

"Elsa of Arendelle, I take it?" the guy stood up from his seat and approached her. The woman has already been standing, but she didn't remove her position, simply eyed at them.

"Yes, your Majesty." Elsa replied and bowed at the guy, who she presumed, was the prince.

"Elsa, this my big brother, Aster. We call him Bunny because he adores Easter." Emma informed her casually. Seems like, in this castle, no one cared about formalities at all.

"Well, I am okay with both of those names... But don't you dare to call me Kangaroo like that stupid bloody show pony." Aster growled in annoyance.

Elsa had a guess about who was this stupid bloody show pony was. Her lips curled up a little, she turned her head toward Jack... He was supposed to stand next to her, but he wasn't there. The platinum blonde felt herself frown a little. She raised her chin and shifted her head leisurely.

"You are okay." the auburn-haired woman breathed out, Elsa could swear that the lock of her hair, which was over her right eye, loosened a little.

The young woman reached out to his arm and clutched it, he didn't pull away, instead, he chuckled and a smug grin formed on his lips. "Of course I am okay!" Jack declared with his usual carefree voice.

The woman crushed him into a desperate hug, she was clenching him tightly. "I-I thought..." she stammered, her voice sounded shaky. Elsa realized her body was also quivering a little.

"I am sorry for being late... We were having a snowball fight." Jack admitted with a serious tone and embraced her back.

The woman slowly broke the physical contact between them and turned around to face the others. Her eyes were watery but she didn't attempt to cry. She approached Elsa with a tiny but kind smile one her face. "Thank you so much for helping us. My name is Katherine, it is an honor to meet you, Elsa." she introduced herself in a friendly manner.

Elsa smiled politely at her. "It is also an honor, Your Highness. However, you don't have to thank me. I was merely a help." she remarked and pushed away the question which was bothering her... What was the relationship between Jack and Katherine?

"Merely?" North snorted and shook his head. "Ho-ho-ho!" he let out a strange, loud laugh and fixated his blue eyes on Katherine. "My dear daughter-in-law, Elsa, Honeymaren and Pabbie helped Sandy and Jack to fight with an evil creature!"

Elsa's jaw opened, shaped in an 'o'. She stood there, next to Emma, was totally frozen. Her features stiffened as she remembered to control her mimics. She wasn't going to be weak. Nevertheless... Daughter-in-law? Katherine and Jack were married? Jack wasn't wearing a ring, nor did Katherine!

She didn't know why, but her heart felt a little heavy, it was aching for an unknown reason. Not that she had... romantic feelings towards Jack, because she definitely didn't, but still...

"King North, we did nothing. Unfortunately, I am afraid, the problem isn't solved, not quite a bit." Pabbie declared the grim truth with a monotone voice.

"Grand Pabbie is right. After what Jack and I had seen..." her voice trailed off, she was struggling about choosing the right words.

"We saw a castle, laying on the North Mountains. I am not kidding. Elsa can testify." Jack continued to explain instead of her, he seemed dead serious. Regardless, a second later, he flashed her a brief, warm smile. The platinum blonde shuddered as she avoided him.

"What!?" Bunny, the older prince gasped in disbelief.

"Impossible." North muttered under his breath, Honeymaren furrowed her eyebrows, Pabbie, Katherine and Sandy though, they have just remained in silence and their faces were completely impassive.

"Okay, let me comprehend. First, someone attacked Einstök and killed people. Then, you guys fought with a demon horse, lastly, you saw a freaking castle that we had no knowledge about its existence." Emma summarized everything, she narrowed her eyebrows while an irritated look was spreading over her face.

"Pretty much." Jack muttered.

The platinum blonde let out a low sigh and bit her bottom lip. "I have a proposal."

"Elsa, " Honeymaren said calmly but her eyes reflected her alarm. "No."

The young woman ignored her friend and continued. "I propose to go to the castle and meet the person who is in charge, as an ambassador." Absolute silence greeted her, so she once again opened her mouth to reason-

"I am coming with you." the young man, whose beautiful blue eyes full of determination stated sternly.

She blinked, felt rather... confused and disgusted at the same time. Baffled because he managed to easily digest her not-so-bright plan and immediately jumped into a confusion. She was disturbed because of the implication of spending more time with him was enough to make her uneasy. Nonetheless, she was also pleased because she was aware of her kinda lunatic idea, but Jack supported without hesitation.

He supported her. But why? Throughout her life, only a few people supported her, her parents, Anna, Honeymaren. Why did he help her, even though they have met just a couple of days ago?

"Are you two have lost your minds? You can't just go there and attempt to communicate with the enemy. We have no information about them!" Aster growled, Elsa somehow knew he was going to contend and she couldn't blame him for it.

"You are right, your Majesty. But what else we can do? Wait for them to burn another village down to ashes?" she argued back.

Aster averted his green eyes away from her and exhaled in frustration. "I agree with Elsa, we can't just sit around and do nothing." Jack stood up for her.

"We can proceed with planning our strategy and war tactics. We need to defend the kingdom." Emma pointed out firmly.

"Still, we have no idea who we are dealing with." the platinum blonde asserted stubbornly.

"You are not leaving." the king commanded with a strict tone.

Elsa frowned in determination and raised her chin, stared icily at the king. "King North, you've insisted on my help. I represent Arendelle and Northuldra, this evil power also concerns my land." she spoke confidently.

"Dad. She shouldn't go alone. I am faster than anyone else, I can fly. If something happens, I will manage to snatch us off and leave." the younger prince reasoned, once again stuck up for her.

"Jackson-"

"For once, let me handle it. I am not a kid anymore, I may seem irresponsible but I can help." Jack cut his father off and insisted persistently.

"That's a suicide mission!" Honeymaren cried. "I am coming with you, Elsa." she announced while she was touching her shoulder.

The platinum blonde's lips formed into a small smile. She felt flattered by the fact Honeymaren was risking her life for her, just like that. "Honeymaren, Jack can carry only one person in the long term."

"I can't stay here while your life is in danger. I... I can't." the brunette woman mumbled in despair, her gaze dropped on the floor.

Elsa wrapped her arms around her, then squeezed her a little to show her affection. She broke the hug shortly soon after and directed her gaze at the royals of Northern Island. Now, Jack was also standing next to her, his shoulder was inches away from hers. She didn't turn to him, but she could see that he was once again flashing her a smile from the corner of her eye.

"I still didn't give you my permission." North straightened up from his seat and raised an eyebrow.

Elsa was about to respond, knowing him, Jack would probably too but both of them halted when they witnessed Katherine, suddenly collapsing on her seat, she placed her palms on her forehead and winced in pain. She seemed natural, definitely not dramatic, as if she was used to this.

"Katherine? Are you okay?" Emma asked in concern, Aster being the closest person to Katherine, took a step and nudged her arm gently. She let out a low groan, began to massage her forehead. Slowly, she raised her head and eyed at Jack and Elsa with her absurdly calm gray eyes. Elsa couldn't help but feel nervous under her gaze.

Katherine stood up and began to walk toward them. She stopped in front of Elsa, her features weren't reflecting any kind of emotion. But then, almost lazily, the princess' lips curled up in satisfaction although Elsa was still feeling awfully uneasy. "You..." Katherine started to talk, caused her to have goosebumps.

Katherine's little smile turned into a wide grin. Once again, Elsa could have sworn that the lock of her auburn hair loosened. "You are just like him, " the princess let out a genuine laugh. "Jack! You are not alone!"

Elsa felt her eyebrows knitting together, she let out a sigh of relief. Nonetheless, she was surprised by Katherine's reaction, even shocked. How could she discover her powers unless someone had told her? Jack nodded eagerly and chuckled whole-heartedly, his lips trembled, he closed his eyelids and when he opened them, she could see the hint of a tiny... tear. "I know." he mumbled under his breath.

"North, they should go." Jack's wife (Elsa still found that fact weird) whirled her head to the king and declared with that collected voice of hers.

North furrowed his eyebrows, his stern expression was reflecting his displeasure. "Katherine-"

"It started. Elsa... She is the last piece." Katherine interrupted her father-in-law gently but also firmly. Everyone in the room, except for North, Pabbie, and Sandy became confused because of those words as they were questioning what she had meant.

"I am the last piece of what?" Elsa questioned her with bewilderment.

"Tooth." Katherine called out the maid's name and avoided her question. "Stop eavesdropping and just come in."

The door creaked a little, Tooth entered the with a strained grin on her face. "I am sorry you Majesty." she apologized sheepishly.

The princess didn't say anything and sent a glare at North. The king nodded silently. "Be careful, Jack and Elsa."

"I don't understand anything." Aster finally remarked to indicate that he was waiting for a proper explanation.

"We'll explain." North began.

"When the right time comes." Sandy spoke for the first time since the meeting had started. After his words, nobody spoke a single word while Elsa was staring at the room with dull eyes.

Whatever they had implied, she knew that she was already a part of this war.


	6. King Of Nightmares

His grip on her tightened, she narrowed her blue eyes, was alarmed by the possibility of being under attack. "We should be on alert." he murmured under his breath while Elsa was nodding in agreement.

They have reached the castle minutes ago, as they got closer, many of those black horses appeared. They weren't attacking, at least for now, however, they were following Jack and Elsa, neighing with their raucous voice.

Jack finally landed when they arrived at the front of the huge gate, which was locked. He raised his staff and hit the hard iron gate twice with the point of it. "I doubt they will open it." he spoke grumpily and yanked Elsa back to his arms gently and began to fly once again. There was no single guard who was defending the walls of the castle, even though it was wrong to assume that they were safe, Jack landed on the stony ground of the yard of the castle, when Elsa broke the contact between them, he clung his staff more strongly.

They headed to the enormous entrance with heavy and careful steps, neither of them was saying anything. When they arrived there, Elsa let out an exhale and stretched out her arm, softly knocked on the massive hard wooden door thrice. The door opened with a loud, thrilling creak that gave shivers down Jack's spine. He peeked at Elsa from the corner of his eyes, she seemed rigid and calm but he could easily detect that she was pale, more than the usual.

He took a step back, gulped at the sight of the... creature. And he thought the black horse was something, but compared to this one... There was a man, no, a shadowy figure floating in the air who was completely black. His body, if you counted his floating figure a body, was shapeless, his neck was thin compared to his body, he had these white eyes, but they were dull, definitely not sparkling.

The creature stared both of them at the same time, he wasn't closing his eyelids or moving a single muscle, the distance between his eyes was farther than the normal. Then, he began to fly backward whereas he was still facing the duo. Without thinking twice, Jack slowly held Elsa's hand, she clutched his tightly in return.

And then, together, they entered the pitch-black castle, the door was shut down loudly behind them.

The shadow was nowhere to be seen, there was no one to guide them. Nonetheless, there was only one path, a gray hallway. Everything, everything was black and dark gray, there was no light at all, therefore, they opened their eyes fully as instinct and tried not to fall while following the path.

Simultaneously, they clasped each other protectively when they heard the weak and soulless screams. Those screams were dry and almost inhuman. They walked a couple of minutes as the screams got louder and louder-Jack yelped when something unexpected yanked his ankle. He shook his foot and whack at the thing with his staff. Hands... Whereas they were walking, many hands both from his and her side were trying to reach them.

His eyes grew bigger, he doubted if those hands belonged to humans, they were sickly gray and extremely thin, he could see the curves of the bones so clearly.

"Jack... They... They must be human." Elsa whispered weakly. He swallowed, wished she wouldn't think like that way because deep down, even though they couldn't see whom those hands belonged to, he knew that Elsa was right. They were probably those villagers, who were captured by the enemy.

And then, they were in an enormous room, the light of cold morning sun was peeking through the window, brightening there at least enough them to see. Jack narrowed his eyes, now he attempted to adjust himself to the dull light. He turned around to see why the corridor they had passed through had no light at all as the sunlight was illuminating this room. He encountered a much more surprising scenery though. There was no hallway, no door or any kind of entrance.

He deliberately whirled around when Elsa pulled his cloak to get his attention. She pointed at the throne with her index finger... This plain place was a throne room, the walls were black, the carpet was gray and every other single furniture was colorless.

And then there was this man, who was sitting on the throne, his legs were dangling lazily from the left side of the throne. His skin was gray, his pointed hair was black, cheekbone was prominent, he had a sharp chin, he was lean, slender and tall. He was occupied by reading a book, even the cover of it was black.

He didn't turn his head, didn't attempt to look at them. But then, he raised his hand calmly and clicked his fingers. Instantly, a tiny pop was heard. Jack caught the glimpse of a dead mouse, who was laying on the stair which lead to the throne. The inner organs of the mouse were brought out, there was a tiny pool of blood on the gray carpet.

"Everything must come to an end eventually. Nothing can last forever except for... fear." the man spoke with a collected and a clear voice while he was lowering his eyelids languorously to his fingernails with an uninterested expression. He raised from his seat and stood up, fixed his long black robe and finally, he directed his golden eyes, which were shining, at Elsa and Jack.

His bored expression stiffened. "Fear is the true ruler of this world. It is the only thing humans always, always have with the pathetic, disgusting existence of theirs." he said, his voice became darker.

"Who are you?" Jack asked as he tried to prevent the snarky tone of his voice.

The tall man's lip curled up, then formed to a smirk and caused them to see his sharp, light gray teeth. "I am Pitch Black, King of Nightmares."

"What?" he spat out in bewilderment.

"Why don't you sit down?" the man suggested as he clicked his finger once again. Two black chairs with fluffy cushions appeared right behind them. "It is early in the morning, you want tea or coffee, perhaps?" with another click, the black shadow that had 'welcomed' them showed up with a black tray, there were three gray cups and a teapot. "You may rest, Nightmare Man." Pitch mumbled as he poured tea into a cup gently. Before the shadow faded away, he stared at Jack and Elsa with his hollow eyes for one last time.

The duo whirled their head to glance at each other. With a low sigh that came out of her mouth, Elsa sat on the chair, Jack decided to do the same, nonetheless, neither of them made a motion to drink the tea that Pitch had offered. "Your Majesty, my name is Elsa." Elsa introduced herself kindly, she quickly stood up and bowed at the so-called king, earned an irritated glare from Jack, then settled on her seat again.

"And I am Jackson Overland of Northern Island." Jack muttered, gritted his teeth with the process. He didn't bow, so now, Elsa sent him a death glare.

Pitch pursed his lips, he took a glance at Jack with a cocky expression on his narrow face. "Jackson Overland, huh? I expected Aster or North, instead they sent me the useless garbage prince of Northern Island." he taunted him with a disinterested look.

Jack's lips trembled in hatred, he has already grown to detest this man. He opened his mouth to reply but Pitch interrupted him: "And my my, the former Queen of Arendelle, the fifth spirit, the Guardian of the Enchanted Forest. I must say, I wasn't expecting you, young lady." he continued, his piercing golden eyes were on her now.

"Stop messing around, Pitch. Elsa and I here because we are certain that you are the one who is responsible for what happened in Einstök." Jack spat out, he knitted his eyebrows, his annoyance was rising within every second. Who did he think he was? He killed half of a village and imprisoned the other half! He declared himself as a king and dared to mock him!

Pitch sneered, which was a very queasy sight if you asked Jack. He stretched his arms toward his back and let out a low yawn to reflect his boredom. "Took you long enough to figure it out. I hoped you would come here sooner." he proceeded with, now, ridiculed both of them.

Elsa scowled, Jack would ponder about how could someone had such an adorable frown- But now it wasn't the right time. "We are not here to declare war on you. We are here to understand your motive and make peace, if possible." she said, was still gentle with Pitch, who was being harsh. Nevertheless, Jack could easily suspect that her anger was rising.

"My intention... Does it always have to be a purpose? Maybe I simply enjoy hurting people." the man retorted, let out a sick snicker.

"Yes, yes there is always a hidden goal." she replied, her voice was becoming threatening.

"Very well then." Pitch paused for a moment as he still had that evil smirk. "My motive is to wreak havoc on Northern Island. I want to burn this sweet country down to ashes and took many innocent lives, paint the ground with their blood. I want this land to be ruled by fear which means me. I want... _revenge_."

Jack was horrified at those words. "Why? I've never heard of you for my whole life and now you are telling me that you want to take revenge from my kingdom?" he questioned, couldn't attempt to hide his curiosity.

Pitch raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me that you don't have a guess about who I am and the reason why I am doing all of this?" he asked, then chuckled to himself. "I see. Your father doesn't even bother to explain his little Jack what he had done."

"What are you implying, Pitch?" Elsa hissed in hatred, she was narrowing her eyes.

"It is not me the one who you should find the answers from."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, tilting his head to indicate his confusion.

Pitch raised his eyebrows and evilly scoffed for the hundredth time. "You think I am a murderer. Well, if I am, then so is your _father_ , Jack."

Jack raised from his seat and snatched his staff firmly. "Don't lump yourself together with my father."

"Is that so?" Pitch said tauntingly. "Poor boy, he doesn't even know the past of his own kingdom."

Elsa also stood up when Pitch unexpectedly vanished. Jack was gazing around, they could hear his voice: "Jackson Overland... You are afraid."

"I am not scared of you, show yourself Pitch!" Jack shrieked truthfully, he raised his staff and blasted ice when saw the figure of Pitch on the black wall... It was only his shadow though.

"Maybe not me. But you are definitely afraid of something." Pitch's damn teasing voice continued.

"How can you know?"

He appeared just right in front of Jack, but faded before Jack or Elsa could strike him with their ice. "I know so." there was a small pause, "That's the only thing I am sure of, humans' fears. You fear Jack, is never to be believed in. Everyone sees you as a mascot, a stupid prince who is not capable of ruling the kingdom, a spoiled brat who only cares for having fun. You fear that no one will understand who you truly are, you'll always stay as the insignificant prince."

"Shut up!" Jack screamed, he clutched his staff between his arm and the right side of his chest, held his head, groaned in pain and shut his eyelids down. "Get out of my head!"

"Jack! Don't listen to him!" Elsa yelled, he could hear the apprehension in her lovely voice. She caressed his shoulder and pulled him toward her.

"Young lady, it is highly improper to jump in a conversation." Pitch chided Elsa as if she was a child, now, the platinum blonde woman was attracting his attention. "Elsa of Arendelle... You fear is-" Pitch suddenly stopped.

Jack raised his head and opened his eyes when he lost Elsa's gentle touch. The young woman was hurled to one of the edge of the room. Jack began to run toward her, but Pitch appeared just right in front of her, out of nowhere, he fired something black without looking at Jack. Jack felt something cold on his wrists, it was like metal, no, it was like sand but more solid. Before he could comprehend, he was tossed to the opposite edge of the room, the black cuffs clenched on the wall, trapped him. He saw his staff, laying a few meters away from him, there was no way he could reach it.

Elsa attempted to get up but failed, blood was leaking from her mouth. She also made an effort to shoot Pitch with her ice, but the man managed to block her attack. He crouched down to take a closer look at her while Jack was shouting. The man touched her chin with his long, slim fingers. "You long for a family."

Jack's eyes grow wider in bewilderment, Elsa panted in irritation. "No. No, I don't. I have a family, I have my sister, her fiancee, friends-"

"You and I both know that is not true. You want a family, you want to be in love, you want a... child." he stated dramatically, his hand slowly slipped to her chin, she turned her head.

"Elsa!" Jack cried out her name. He needed to do something in order to get rid of these stupid cuffs. But what could he do without his staff? His powers were limited when he didn't have his staff with him. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to lose hope. Jack exhaled and inhaled, closed his eyes and focused his all attention on his wrists.

"But you can't. You had never fell in love and you can't have a child because you can't give a birth. You are afraid that you will never have the family you desire for. You fear is that you will stay alone... forever." Pitch announced with a cocky tone.

Jack's wrist began to turn blue, he collected his all powers on his wrist so that the ice reached the black cuffs. When the cuffs turned into ice, he pressured them with his wrist and pulled them, the cuffs were finally broken and he was free. Jack quickly got up from the floor, ran and grabbed his staff, then flew. He sent a blast of ice to Pitch in order to bruise and hopefully batter him. He succeeded.

Pitch snarled between his howls, Jack sent cuffs to his wrist and clasped them to the ground, just like the way Pitch did to him. Meanwhile, Elsa was getting up. She fixated her blue coat and froze Pitch's hands completely, her mesmerizing blue eyes were completely emotionless. "Fearlings! Get them!" Pitch roaded furiously.

Black spirits came out of nowhere, their eyes were hollow and white just like the Nightmare Man, but they were smaller than him, more of a ghost shape. They were screaming with their high-pitched voice, were reminding the sound of the souls, which were imprisoned and suffering. The Fearlings flew toward them whereas those creatures were stretching out their slender arms.

The rest of their movements flew by promptly. Elsa pulled up her right arm towards her chest, then as she opened it rapidly and strongly, a huge ice barrier was constructed on the ground, by this way, it blocked the Fearlings. As soon as her defense was finished, Jack pulled her to his body, protectively wrapped his arms around her and began to fly. He sent a shot of ice so that the dirty window shattered into pieces.

Thus, they were out.


	7. Intimacy

"Snowflake... Are you okay?" he found himself asking quietly with the new nickname that he has been intending to use for a while. Somehow, they managed to get away from Pitch's castle and now they were floating in the air peacefully. Elsa's head was buried on his chest, she didn't peek at him, even for once.

"Put me down." she ordered with a low tone.

"What?"

"Jack, let me go." she ordered with a stiff tone, still wasn't facing him.

He halted for a brief moment, looked around instinctively to search for a spot, then made a soft-land on the ground. They were in the forest, surrendered by tall and lean trees. Elsa gently pushed him away, he just stared at her with confusion and well, to be honest, he felt a bit hurt.

The platinum blonde woman turned away without giving him the opportunity to see her face, she wrapped her arms around herself and commenced to walk slowly.

"Elsa? Are you injured?" Jack approached her and gently touched on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and hugged herself tighter.

"Leave me alone."

"Els-"

"Just stay away, Jack... Please." she begged, her oh so beautiful voice sounded vulnerable and so broken.

He wasn't going to let go of her that easily, his instincts told him so. "Elsa... What's going on?" he asked softly and took a step closer to her.

"I need a minute. Alone." she replied weakly, her voice sounded warm, not cold. That was a good sign.

Alone. That word immediately evoked Jack what Pitch had said. Elsa's biggest fear... It was being alone.

"No." he declared with determination, his eyebrows were knitted together. "No." he repeated stubbornly and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Elsa, please look at me." he beseeched with a tender voice.

Reluctantly, she whirled around with heavy steps, her gaze was dropped on the ground instead of simply darting her eyes at him. Her cheeks were tinted with a light shade of red, lips were pursed, but he could see that her kissable lips were trembling. A narrow line of dried blood between the edge of her bottom lip and chin existed on her gorgeous face, she seemed tired because, under her eyes, there were purple circles.

"It's nothing." she mumbled slowly under her breath.

He shook his head with a sudden feeling of his blood, boiling in frustration. "Look, you don't have to tell me what's bothering you, but at least, stop acting like you feel fine." he snapped because he couldn't- he just couldn't stand seeing her like this, extremely aggrieved and sorrowful.

"What is to you!?" she inquired with a sudden burst of raise on her tone. She lifted her gaze and locked on him. Her blue eyes... They were flickering in anger, nonetheless, there was a hint of sadness behind her outrage. "It is not like you'll understand." she spoke with such an inaudible voice, he could barely hear her.

His scowl deepened just as his puzzlement. It was okay to freak out, he was actually losing his mind too! What happened earlier at Pitch's castle... It was absolutely normal to be shaken, why was she acting like it was unacceptable?

He took one more step toward her, but there was still at least a meter between them. "But I do want to understand. Let me ease your pain, Elsa." he offered boldly, he could feel his cheeks burning.

Elsa's cheeks were now, dusted with a darker red. She bit her bottom lip for a brief moment, averted blue eyes from his once again. Nevertheless, she puffed out and glared directly at him, eyes were as cold as the most solid ice. "Pitch is extremely dangerous. I fear he may attack sooner without giving us a chance to prepare. And what he told us about your father... When we get to the castle, we should find North and well, convince him to spill the tea."

"Elsa-"

"Fear has always been my enemy throughout my life, Jack." she interrupted him with a stiff, frigid tone, a deep frown on her face occurred. "I am not going to let it damage me or the things I value for... Not anymore."

* * *

Once again, he was rapidly repelled when they had arrived at the castle. His heart felt... heavy, it was aching for some unknown reason. He didn't understand... Was she mad at him? If so, what had he done to offend her?

He wanted to call out her name ask what was going on one more time because that's all he could think of. He needed to-he _craved_ for helping her, make her feel better but she was refusing to let him in. He thought they were friends, friends that shared their feelings, secrets, thoughts because he did so, he was honest and well, not afraid of showing himself to her.

She understood him, not just due to their shared powers, no, she believed in him because she was too kind and such a considerate person. She might have not realized it, but since they've met, she helped him... a lot. He felt less lonely, she didn't chide him even for once. Of course, a couple of days were a little bit short to scold someone you've just met, however, Elsa... She felt different in every kind of way.

So yeah, all in all, this time, he wished for being the one, who helped, who understood her.

"King North!" Elsa shouted and started to walk around while completely ignoring him. She randomly asked a couple of servants where their king was politely, but none of them gave her a proper answer until Tooth appeared at the main hall of the castle.

"Jack, Elsa, you guys are okay!" the woman yelled in relief and crashed Jack into a hug, then before he could respond back, she was abruptly embracing Elsa. The speed of this woman was sure, magnificent.

"Hello, Tooth." the platinum blonde greeted her with a sincere, light smile on her face, her gaze was reflecting her care... Okay, what was going between him and her? She was clearly acting like her normal self to the others!

"North and few others are in the harbour. We have new visitors!" Tooth chirped enthusiastically and began to push the two of them to the entrance of the castle.

"Whoa, Tooth, calm down!" Jack squeaked while the older woman was giggling whole-heartedly. "Make sure you guys come fast, I am preparing the lunch!" she squealed and the duo was out of the castle just like that.

Simultaneously, like the usual, the duo whirled their head to stare at each other. Elsa had an amused smile on her face, her gaze was finally warm. Soon, both of them burst into laughter. "She is definitely a mom, a very energetic one indeed." she stated between her giggles.

He knew that his laughter softened and changed to a fond grin. "Do you want to fly to the harbor?" he suggested with his lovable tone.

Her eyes became ice-cold as soon as those words left his mouth, her apathy caused him to startle. "I can walk." she retorted with a basic answer and declined his proposal.

"Uh-okay?" he stammered since that was all he could do. They walked to the harbor in deep and very uneasy silence, again, which was extremely odd for Jack. He was always comfortable around Elsa.

She halted with the elegant posture that made her seem like a powerful queen, well she was a queen once, when she stood behind of North, who was having a chat with Katherine. Honeymaren and Pabbie were there too although none of them realized that their arrival. "King North-" she commenced on but soon, she was interrupted.

"Elsa!"

Elsa tilted her so that she could see the owner of the voice, instead of North's massive body. Her eyes grew wider at the sight of a certain strawberry blonde-haired young woman. "Anna! What are you doing here?" she inquired with a hint of perplexity, she was still a bit reserved.

However, Elsa's attitude changed in an eye blink when her sister threw herself towards her and wrapped her arms around lovingly. "You are okay! I was so worried about you!" Anna squealed energetically and squeezed her older sister.

A small but absolutely find smile appeared on the platinum blonde's lips. "Of course I am okay." she mumbled calmly and broke the hug, but now, the two sisters were holding their hands and staring at each other with an extremely affectionate gaze on their eyes. Jack couldn't help but grin... Their sisterhood was truly one of a kind.

"Ahem-Hello to you too, Els." a familiar baritone let out a fake cough and intervened in the sisterly moment.

Elsa's smile turned to an amused smirk, she eventually loosened her grip and approached the blonde-haired muscular man. "It's nice to see you, Kristoff, my dear brother-in-law." she sounded dramatic, which added a sense of cheekiness to her tone, she barely held herself not to chuckle while they were sharing a friendly embrace.

Then, the platinum blonde's grin became even wider when her eyes locked on a reindeer. "Hello Sven!" she exclaimed joyfully and caressed the reindeer's fur. Sven enthusiastically raised his hand and licked Elsa's face, as if he was a dog, the young woman laughed in return.

"Now, where is Olaf?" Elsa asked playfully.

"Right here!" a comical voice retorted behind from Sven and soon, they were facing a goofy-looking snowman. Correction, a snowman who could talk.

"What the- you can talk!" North exclaimed, the shock was drawn into his features.

Jack knew, his eyes were probably lighting up like a Christmas tree. "You can create alive things and also give them the ability to talk?! That's so freaking cool!" he yelled enthusiastically, he was barely holding himself not to jump. Elsa... She simply averted his exclamation though.

Katherine's gray eyes slightly grew bigger, which was a huge accomplishment since she almost never, never got surprised. "Olaf... Why do I feel like there's a story behind your name?" she inquired, more likely to herself due to the way she put her index finger and thumb on her chin. She seemed absolutely concentrated as if she was trying to figure out a mystery.

Jack chuckled to himself, same old Katherine, she was always too deep in her thoughts. Olaf, the snowman simply shrugged and pursed his 'lips'. "It is a long story actually. Once upon a time, there were two sisters, one had ice powers, the other-"

"Um, I am sorry to interrupt but Olaf, I am pretty sure you can explain them later." a brunet young man with blue eyes cut the snowman off a little timidly. He was standing next to Honeymaren, Jack remembered that his name was Ryder, Honeymaren's brother, and Kristoff's weird reindeer loving friend. He was oddly serious, which meant that something was wrong.

When he removed his hand, Jack realized that his once hand was clasped to the other by that action, a cute little salamander, which had purple patterns on his blue skin, showed up. The salamander beamed at them then all of a sudden, he promptly ran in an eye blink and now, he was standing on Elsa's palm. "Bruni? What's wrong?" she asked in apprehension while the tiny reptile was licking her palm affectionately.

"Elsa, ever since you and my sister left Northuldra, the spirits went literally crazy. Gale caused storms, Nokk created massive waves, Bruni set few trees on fire occasionally and the earth giants made plenty of earthquakes, thankfully nothing too serious." Ryder clarified, his jaw was tight while he was staring at the platinum blonde with a dead-serious manner.

"King North, we have to discuss, now." Elsa ordered the king firmly. North nodded, his blue eyes reflected his worry, he was also pouting. Soon, they all headed back to the castle.

"Your Majesty! The lunch is ready!" Tooth, who was still standing at the entrance, announced merrily, like her usual self. Aster was also standing next to her, but he wasn't saying anything. Nonetheless, when they saw Olaf, their jaws literally dropped to the ground whereas Jack was laughing at their shocked expression mockingly.

"Sadly, we won't be attending, Toothie." North said with an apologetic smile and ruffled her short hair. Jack really adored his father's this habit. Not only him, Aster and Emma, his father also treated everyone as if they were his own child. That's why, literally everyone looked up to him, especially Katherine. Unlike Jack, she was an extraordinarily mature person, she preferred to hang out with old people so North was like a best friend to her.

"No way!" Tooth shrieked in disagreement, "Food is important! I will bring your lunch to the meeting room and I expect all of you to eat it!" she tilted her head and eyed at everyone with a deep frown on her face and shouted almost in anger.

"I really like her." Queen Anna whispered to Elsa, who was gripping her arm. The platinum blonde laughed wholeheartedly in return.

"Okay, mom." Jack added cheekily and earned a death glare from Tooth.

* * *

"You guys go ahead." Jack gestured them to go in while he was resting his back on the wall with a hint of uneasiness on his outlines. "Elsa, may I talk to you for a second?" he inquired politely as the platinum blonde was about to enter.

She halted, obviously considered what she should have said, then nodded with slow movements as she let go of Anna's touch. She seemed reluctant about the process and that fact was the exact reason why he was asking her to have a conversation alone in the first place.

Jack began to walk with heavy steps, knowing well that she was following him. He stepped in a random room, where he knew it was probably empty. When Elsa came into the room, he shut down the door calmly and take a look at her... She was glaring directly at his eyes but there was a shadow of her former self. This beautiful woman... She looked still the same but she wasn't the woman he has recognized and well, cared about. This woman was emotionless, stern and cold, in a disturbing way.

"What's going on?" he blurted out with a low voice, his eyes were refusing to catch the glimpse of her.

"Nothing." she replied curtly, her tone was biting and sharp.

He rested his wooden staff sluggishly against a wall, then peeked at her apathetic mood. "Snowflake, if I did something to hurt you, please do tell me." he murmured, although he was attempting to sound cold-blooded, his voice creaked a little, resulting in him to curse himself.

"Why are you calling me 'Snowflake', Jack?" she raised a question with a low mutter.

"Why? Maybe it is because I see you as someone, who is close to me." he answered, a bit sarcastically.

"Well, maybe I don't want you to call me like that because maybe, we don't have an intimate relationship." she hissed with a deadly harsh voice, surprisingly, he was kinda expecting this answer based on her earlier behavior.

He couldn't help but scowl, which his irritation had caused. "You've been acting strange since we escaped from Pitch's palace. Did Pitch hurt you? This isn't you, Elsa, I know it isn't..." he let out a whimper that sounded like a desperate plea.

Elsa knitted her eyebrows in anger. "How long have we been knowing each other? A week give or take. You don't know me. You don't know what I've been through." she growled with a husky voice.

"I know who you are, simply by looking at your face. I don't need to know your past when I can see your soul crystal clear. Thus, I know something's off between us."

"There is no us, Jack!" she screamed, exploded so abruptly that made him flinch. Her stunning blue eyes... They were full of fear, even though she was desperately struggling to hide it, he could discern because he could read her like an open book.

Nevertheless, those words stabbed his heart, pierced it so deeply. He didn't have the energy to continue, so she went on. "We are not friends. I am here because the spirits can feel that Pitch is a threat, I can also feel that. He endangers my home and there is no way I am going to let him destroy it. I am here, not because I care about you particularly, you are just an ally to me, therefore I would appreciate when you treat me like one. What I care about is the innocent lives and that's it. So, don't bother to establish intimacy with me."

After those words, she twisted the doorknob and abandoned him in the room. She did not turn around, let alone glancing at him. He just stood there with the lump in his dry throat, his trembling body, hollow gaze and sorrow, given by the fact that his heart was shattered into pieces.


	8. The Dark Lord

It was a strange situation. North, Aster, Sandy, Katherine, Emma, Anna, Kristoff, Honeymaren, Ryder, Pabbie, who was a rock troll, Olaf, who was an alive snowman were sitting in the meeting room, only Sven and Bruni weren't there because Tooth strictly insisted on animals shouldn't enter the room, which was a quite logical, understandable viewpoint. Besides, Elsa was pretty sure Tooth was spending time with Sven and Bruni, her eyes flickered in pure joy when she first saw them.

Seriously, in a normal kingdom, there would be royals and counselors, not that Elsa was obsessed with the hierarchical system, it was just amusing to witness the magical creatures, as if they dodged from a fairy tale... This was coming from a woman who could create and manipulate ice and snow.

This wasn't why her situation felt unusual, extraordinary though. It was because he was there, standing right next to her. He came a couple of minutes later after her arrival, he had a poker face, she shivered instantly because he was creating a cold aura, which was oddly disturbing. Neither of them has spoken a single word nor made a comment about their appearance. Elsa knew, both she and Jack looked like death warmed up.

This had to be done, she told herself. She had to, before things got more complicated... He had a wife for God's sake, why was he too much occupied on her, instead of Katherine? He might be blaming her now, but it was partly his fault, he was a married man, he shouldn't have been... Elsa let out a deep sigh and shook her head. She wasn't going to ponder over this now.

"The enemy's name is Pitch Black. He let us enter his castle. He has a servant called the Nightmare Man... We don't know what that creature is capable of but surely, it is dangerous. As we walked in the hallways..." Elsa's voice trailed off when she recalled those sickly pale and skinny hands, the dreadful screams.

"Pitch. We are certain that he imprisons the villagers, they... don't live in good circumstances. When we finally found ourselves in the throne room, he was there. He is a tall, lean man with jet black hair and sickly gray, pale skin, he has golden eyes... He is the opposite of Sandy, now that I realize." Jack continued instead of her, his voice was harsh, rough and deep. "He declared himself as King of Nightmares." he spoke, a fierce expression spread over to his handsome outlines.

"He has powers... Just like Jack, I and Sandy." Elsa commenced telling them the story as soon as his sentence was finished. They weren't friends, not anymore but no matter how much she warned herself to resist, she and Jack completed each other.

"What powers?" Anna interrupted her sister, couldn't keep her excitement to herself.

Elsa halted for a brief moment to recollect Pitch's abilities. "He uses ghost-like creatures called the Fearlings as soldiers, we have no idea what they are or how there were created in the first place. He can also traverse great distances through shadows and darkness, only appears when he wants to be seen. Most importantly... He has black sand, the reverse of Sandy." she clarified the answer they have been wondering about.

"That's not his most significant power, if you asked me." Jack disagreed with her whereas he was folding his arms, his staff was laying on the massive table. His eyes were darted on the others, not her. "He knows people's greatest powers."

"What the hell?" Aster suddenly rosed up from his seat, slammed his hands on the table with an angry growl.

"Is there anything furthermore?" Emma also raised up from her seat rapidly, put her hand on Aster's shoulder to calm his nerves down. The oldest brother sat down while he was cursing under his breath.

There was a brief moment of dreadful silence. "Yes." Elsa replied without directing her gaze at Emma. "Pitch accused King North of murder. He said his motive was to get revenge... He won't stop until he destroys this kingdom and gets what he wants."

Emma's eyes grew bigger in astonishment, she silently returned to her seat and tilted her head at his father. In fact, everybody was looking at North now.

"Dad. I don't know what you are hiding, Pitch mentioned about the past, it is a clue, our key now. You must tell us what happened so that we can fight against this guy." Jack dismissed the endless pause, he seemed annoyed with that cute grimace of his. He grabbed a chair and sit down, Elsa also did the same.

Elsa scolded herself, she shouldn't have thought of him like that, he wasn't adorable, just irritated. No way she wasn't going to allow herself to be weak!

North let out a dramatic sigh, he shut down his eyelids whereas he was nodding in defeat. He seemed older because of his exhaustion. Nevertheless, instead of saying something, he directed his blue eyes at Katherine, who was obviously lost in her own world.

"You may explain, North. It is time." she spoke out all of a sudden, her gray eyes were fixated on a wall. Her words surprised everyone. Why was North asking Katherine's permission to explain?

"Pitch refers to the Dark War, Jack. The war that occurred when you were born." North finally retorted with his thick, intense baritone voice.

"The bloodiest war in our history... I still don't get what it has anything to do with that so-called King though." Aster muttered under his breath, then he gritted his teeth in hatred.

"Everything, Aster." Katherine responded curtly without turning her gaze towards him.

"Well, Miss I-Know-Everything, why don't you enlighten us then?" he grumbled in annoyance.

The woman tucked the lock of her auburn hair behind her ear. She silently removed herself from her seat and began to walk around with calm steps, her arms were crossed together. "Twenty-six years ago, a war in Northern Island arose. As Aster said, it was the deadliest war in Northern Island history. I was just one year old then and thankfully in my kingdom. The war lasted for two years, ended during the time Jack was born." she began to explain in detail since the people from Arendelle and Northuldra didn't know the story.

"The enemy was called othe Dark Lord, his real name is unknown, so is his identity. No one saw his face, legend says he always wore his black knight armor, you could only see a glimpse of darkness through his helmet." she continued on with her usual calm voice, which gave the impression that she was too deep in thought.

This woman was incredibly intelligent but also compassionate and kind at the same time, no wonder why Jack fell for her in the first place... Elsa made an internal face palm, she had to conceal her emotions at this moment.

"He was the definition of death and destruction. I've never seen an enemy, as powerful, evil, mysterious as him... He razed everything to the ground, caused famine and poverty to my kingdom." North went on, his fingers were laced together, he was resting his chin, causing his long white beard to brush the table.

"He... He murdered our brother, Jack's twin brother a couple of days after he was born. I never had the chance to meet him." Emma stated frigidly, her brown eyes and outlines were completely impassive.

Her reflexes acted before her logic, therefore, Elsa found herself eying at Jack, who was sitting next to her. His face fell down, he retired into his shell by avoiding eye contact. Jackson Overland... He had a twin brother? She winced, her sorrow that she felt for him crept into her heart.

"We know what happened at that time. I just don't understand how does this Pitch guy is involved." Aster changed the egregious topic, his features were harsh.

"I have a guess about that. Doesn't the name Pitch ring a bell?" Katherine hinted, she bent down and placed her palms on the table, glanced at North, Sandy, Jack, Aster and Emma one by one while the rest was striving to figure out what she had implied.

"Kozmotis Pitchiner." she answered her own question as she stood more upright, her posture was elegant and strict.

"He was the best general this kingdom could ever have. We defeated the Dark Lord thanks to his clever war strategy. He was a compassionate, a very good-hearted man, he avoided spilling blood as much as possible and cared for his men... He sacrificed himself to kill the Dark Lord. We may have won that day, but we lost our best soldier." North made their foggy minds clear, his eyelids were shut down tightly.

"Pitchiner... Do you think he and Pitch Black are the same person, your Majesty?" Kristoff inquired, he was frowning in bafflement.

"Do you have another theory?" North responded to his question with another question.

"How is that possible?" the blonde-haired man muttered to himself, Anna's hand found him, she gave a light squeeze to her husband to reflect her support.

Elsa's mouth was parted a little, she swallowed while she was shivering slightly due to the sudden coldness she felt in her veins. If what North had were true... Kozmotis Pitchiner, the respected and good-hearted general turned into Pitch Black, a murderer who was full of rage. Those thoughts sent shivers down her spine.

Pitch was right, something happened to him in the past. She wondered... She wondered if deep inside, a part of Kozmotis Pitchiner still existed in Pitch Black's heart... She doubted he had a heart.

"I don't know," was North's all reply.

"Why does he want revenge?" Emma questioned her father with an ordering manner.

"I don't know." he repeated huskily.

Everyone's attention turned to Jack when he chuckled loudly, it sounded dry, bitter and sarcastic. He shook his head, he removed himself from his seat whereas he was scowling. He snatched his staff and headed to the door.

"Jackson Overland. Where do you think you are going?" Katherine questioned him with a chiding tone, it was clear that her anger had arisen.

"Katherine." he spat out his wife's name furiously, but ceased for a moment. "I am sick of you and my father, constantly beating around the bush." he snarled, his frown deepened. "I need answers, you guys don't do anything but to keep secrets. Sandy, for example, has magical powers and I've known him for my entire life but I learned it recently. I am not a kid."

Katherine narrowed her gray eyes, the lock of her hair which was blocking her right eye twirled together, it became more curly. "Sit down. I am getting there." she demanded, he did what she had commanded reluctantly.

"I apologize if I sound know-it-all and arrogant. However, I am not allowed to talk about everything." Katherine calmly spoke with a strong posture, she seemed sure of herself. When nobody spoke, she continued. "I want everyone to listen to me without having prejudice because it may sound like nonsense..." her voice trailed off.

She raised her chin, gulped, then exhaled to ready herself. "There is a man in the moon."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just listen to me." she requested. "There is a prophecy. If you don't believe in destiny or fate, let's say there is a story that is not completely written because it is not finished yet. Right now, as time flows, the story is forming all thanks to us." Katherine halted, gazed at their bewildered faces for a moment, then her gray eyes rested on the wall once again.

"When the war was over, the man in the moon warned us. Yes, the Dark Lord was gone, but a new evil would arise. A villain that could cause more harm than him. He said, years later, we would have another war and it would be nearly impossible for us to win this one. Nearly. We have a chance, even though it is an extremely small one, we still got one. The man in the moon... He granted a couple of people with magical abilities. Jack and Sandy for instance. The man in the moon, Manny he calls himself, he said we needed these magical people."

"Why does he help us?" Jack asked quietly.

Katherine darted her gray eyes at him sharply, then turned away her gaze once again. "It's his duty to protect the innocent lives." she responded shortly.

"How can you know all of this?" Aster interrogated her, for once, he sounded steady, quiet.

"He told me so." she replied curtly. "This is the duty Manny has given to me... knowing the stories, the outcomes, the possibilities."

"So you are a psychic?" Olaf opened his mouth to speak, made Aster startled.

She chuckled in amusement, pursed her lips with the process. "I guess you could say that." Her gray eyes softly landed on Elsa, the platinum blonde's breath hitched, her heart started to beat faster. "Look... I can't tell you anything, if I do, they may not happen. I am not supposed to intervene. Just... Trust me." she spoke for everyone, but Elsa was certain, Katherine said this particularly to her.

* * *

"Picnic?" Elsa grumbled with a sleepy tone, she was rubbing her cheeks to get herself together. She didn't have a lot of sleep due to their adventures, therefore today, she overslept a little.

"Yes! Us girls need to spend time! We should have lunch to get to know each other more!" Tooth chirped cheerfully while Anna was giggling gaily.

"I actually promised Jamie to spend time with him." Emma informed Tooth with a cool tone, nevertheless, Tooth snickered when she heard Jamie's name.

"You can have a date with him whenever you want, Emma! Since Elsa, Honeymaren and Anna are here, we should spend time with our guests!" she reasoned to show her disagreement.

A hint of redness crept into Emma's cheeks. "I-It is not a date!" she stuttered out, her blush reddened.

"Sure." Tooth didn't extend the topic, let it drop.

"I think it's a good idea." Honeymaren stated to support Tooth with an amused grin when Anna kept bugging her by poking her arm.

"I agree with Honeymaren." Katherine eventually opened her mouth to speak, she flashed the girls a tiny smile. "Although... Elsa? May I talk to you for a second, alone?" she inquired politely.

Elsa's eyes grew wider at those words. No, no, no! Why did Katherine want to discuss in private? There could be only one answer... Katherine wasn't an idiot, of course she discerned that Elsa and Jack were too close.

"Right before our girl time? Really, Kath?" Tooth berated the woman in irritation, Elsa barely held herself not to hug and thank her endlessly.

"We will be quick." Katherine pledged in order to appease her while she has already been pulling Elsa from her wrist. The platinum blonde had no choice but to obey her. This had to be done after all.

She had to prove Katherine there wasn't anything between her and Jack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, about Katherine... I couldn't read the Guardians of Childhood because I just can't find the series anywhere. I apologize if Katherine is OOC. My research is based on wiki, but it is not enough. At some point, I just let my imagination do whatever it wants. Please review, again, it means a lot to me. Thank you all for your support!


	9. Snowflake

The sunlight illuminated the auburn-haired woman's face, she seemed younger and happier as a tiny smile spread over to her pretty face. Katherine rarely smiled or grinned, this was the sincerest smile of hers that Elsa has ever witnessed.

They were in a massive coop, the two women were surrendered by chickens, roosters, their babies and geese. Katherine brought Elsa there, saying that she wanted to pet her favorite animal. It was a normal-sized, white-furred goose. The goose looked extremely elegant and gracious, like a noble. As soon as the goose saw Katherine, it basically hopped and revolved around her, then snuggled closer to the woman while she was caressing its fur.

"Elsa, meet Kailash. I found her when she was a baby, alone in the woods. She thinks I am her mother." Katherine introduced Kailash sheepishly, her cheeks flushed a little.

Her heart basically melted at Katherine's explanation. Geese were often described as wild, ill-tempered and peevish but Kailash seemed otherwise. It was good-natured, calm and friendly, just like Katherine.

A part of her claimed she was supposed to hate Katherine. However, Elsa simply couldn't dislike her, she probably never would be. Katherine was kind and sympathetic, she never acted hostile towards Elsa.

That's why, she felt terribly awful, ashamed of herself. This woman put her trust in her, encouraged North to let her and Jack get into an adventure, thanked Elsa repeatedly for her help, attempted to befriend her while she was doing what? Fooling around with her husband, letting him in, allowing him to get closer and closer to her heart.

And there was the horrible truth: None of this was Jack's fault, he was clearly in love with Katherine, which guy wouldn't? He was just trying to be friendly, they had the same powers, of course, he wanted a more intimate relationship. But that didn't mean he was thinking anything romantic!

"Jack makes fun of me because of this situation. He calls me _Mother Goose_ some time to time."

She felt her lips, curling up a little, but her heart was aching. He always came up with a good nickname. It pained her so much to act as if she hated the nickname 'Snowflake'.

"So, how is your relationship with Jack?"

Elsa was out of breath for a moment, those words gave her goosebumps. She wobbled a little, placed her palm on her forehead as she gained her balance back. She refused to answer, she just couldn't because, in fact, she wasn't sure if she truly knew.

The platinum blonde opened her eyelids widely when she felt the gentle touch of a soft, warm hand on hers. She blinked when Katherine's hand raised hers and brought closer to Kailash. She felt the head of the goose, her whiter than white silky fur brushed her hand delicately.

"Kailash is friendly, still, she warms up to strangers not so promptly. You must be a natural." Katherine complimented, Elsa felt an urge to stare at her gray eyes... They were gleaming and Katherine was grinning, it was so genuine, even more than before.

This was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"I am so, so, so sorry. I am an awful person." Elsa blurted out, her voice was shaking, the lump in her throat was preventing her from breathing normally. She buried her hands on her face as the guilt was spreading over her heart.

When she heard Katherine's giggle, she prepared herself for the upcoming event... "Oh, Elsa. What do you think Jack and I are?" she popped out a question.

"Jack is your husband. Look, Katherine, you have every right to be angry with me-" her attempt to explain was cut off by the auburn-haired woman's laughter.

"Elsa, Jack is my fiancé." she managed to let out between her chuckles while she was wiped away the teardrops.

Did Katherine find this... funny? Elsa felt herself scowling because her of perplexity. "What's the difference? You two are in love either way."

The woman's laughter became louder and louder, she was holding her stomach. "Oh stop, seriously, it hurts to laugh now." she said, pausing nearly between her every word. Eventually, her laughter died. "Elsa... Neither I am not in love with Jack, nor is he."

"W-What?" she stuttered out, her puzzlement rosed even more.

Katherine returned to her usual reserved and collected self, her gray eyes were discerning and compassionate. "That idiot obviously didn't tell you... I guess I am the storyteller once again." she mumbled, chuckled to herself in a brief moment of amusement. "I am from a neighbor kingdom, which is very tiny. I have only my father, we have no other relatives therefore, I am the only heir to the throne." she commenced on clarifying.

Elsa knitted her eyebrows once again, too focused on Katherine, the woman continued when she understood that Elsa had digested those words. "Of course, the counselors pestered me to get married and give birth. The problem is that, I am not in love with anyone. So, I had an idea. Ever since I could remember, Jack is my best friend. He also likes no one but everyone also wants him to get married because they think he would finally grow up and be 'useful'. I proposed Jack to marry, he instantly accepted because now, no one pressures him. While he is going to enjoy his freedom, Bunny and Emma's future children will be the heirs to my country's throne."

"So it is an arranged marriage."

"Exactly, but we won't even share the same bed." Katherine cringed in disgust. "Even the thought of it is hideous."

She let out a sigh in despair while she was struggling to conceal her emotions. She insulted him for nothing, probably upset him.

"You should talk with Jack, now." Katherine stated with a serious tone, her features were impassive.

"What about Tooth? She will be mad for not attending to the picnic."

"I will handle it, don't worry." she reassured her instantly.

Elsa nodded, feeling determined, she stood more upright and raised her chin. She needed to fix this. She headed to the exit of the coop and before she left there entirely, she took one last glance at Katherine. "Thank you." she declared sincerely.

"Snowflake... A pretty nickname, don't you think?" the auburn-haired princess made a comment about the nickname that he has given to her, instead of saying something polite about her appreciation.

"Did he tell you?"

Katherine's lips curled up a little in amusement, she had this mysterious aura that she somehow always had. "He is in the meeting room, Elsa."

* * *

She stood in front of the massive door, her eyes were dull, outlines were entirely apathetic. She felt numb, but she knew, once she let go of her emotions... She had to apologize but she also had to be strong in front of him. She didn't want him to pity her and accept her apology because of it.

With a deep sigh, she raised her fist and knocked on the door slowly. "Come in!" she heard King North's joyful voice. Elsa exhaled and inhaled once again, she turned on the doorknob leisurely and stepped into the room.

She did not take a further step, didn't blink, didn't make any kind of gesture or mimic actually. She stiffened, her posture was frozen. He remained the same since she had last seen him, if she had to admit though, his features had grown to be a bit more mature. Nevertheless, he was the same. His red hair was combed neatly, his light freckles and fair skin was glowing as if he was using a creme, his clothes looked like they were ironed hundred times.

And those stupid, disgusting, funny looking sideburns.

He raised his hands to indicate his surrender when the sharp ice was a few inches apart from his throat, threatening him to pierce it. Elsa's lips quivered in hatred, her left hand formed to a fist as her right hand was lifted, controlling the ice.

"Elsa! What the hell are you doing?" she heard Aster's yell, it sounded bewildered more than angry. From the corner of her eye, she peeked at the room. Only Pabbie, North, Aster, Sandy and Jack were there.

"Where's Kristoff?" she inquired harshly, she gave absolutely zero crap that she sounded impolite and rough.

"He left to find you and Anna-" North answered and would have continued unless Elsa let him speak.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she growled dangerously, she was scowling so hard that her forehead actually ached. Nonetheless, she was too mad, she didn't care.

"Elsa, let's just calm down for a-" that hideous voice couldn't proceed because the sharp point of the ice was contacting his throat, but still not enough to pierce the skin.

"I asked, what the hell were you doing here. Answer me." she commanded with a furious roar.

 _Hans_ Westergaard of Southern Isles gulped and directed his green eyes at her with a slight glimpse of fear, but his expression stayed calm. "I know you won't hurt me. I am here as an ambassador, I represent Southern Isles."

"Stop." she halted him, she seriously couldn't bear hearing his voice.

"If you actually listen to me-"

"Prince Hans..." the deep, manly but polite voice that she has grown to admire spoke for the first time. He removed himself from his seat, casually grabbed his staff and finally, he rested his calm but extremely frigid blue eyes on the redheaded man sharply. "With all due respect, shut your damn mouth up."

Then, he gripped Elsa's hand and headed to door with firm steps, slammed the door as loudly as possible.

* * *

She felt herself crouching down, more likely collapsing on the floor whereas she was fuming, desperately making an effort to suck some air regularly.

"What had he done to you?" Jack asked with an icy tone, gave her shivers down her spine. She didn't look at him, but she could feel his blue eyes on her.

She did not reply. "Elsa. What had he done to you?" he questioned her once again, this time, his tone was more demanding and angrier.

"He manipulated my sister by tricking her that he was in love with her, then tried to kill me and Anna to become the king of Arendelle."

She heard the sound of the door opening. Jack brought her to an empty room as soon the left there. She raised her head and saw him, leaving. "Jack, stop!" she shrieked and yanked him from his ankle.

"I am going to kill him." he growled under his breath, she never knew he could be that much mad as she finally darted her gaze at him. He was scowling so hard, his hands were shaped to fists and his left hand was clutching his staff.

She stood up, clenched his wrist and pulled him softly. He simply let her do the action, soon, he was in front of her and the door was closed. His mesmerizing, piercing blue eyes were weary. In fact, he seemed exhausted due to his sullen face. Being surly truly did not suit him. "He won't worth it." she mumbled with a low tone.

He supported her. Even though she practically shut him out, disrespected their friendship, hurt his feelings, he stuck up for her.

"He will regret, I promise. I won't let anyone hurt you... never." he stated with a huge amount of uncharacteristic seriousness. His wonderful deep blue eyes finally softened, just like his voice.

"Why are you doing this, Jack? I pushed you away and damaged your feelings." she choked out with a broken voice while she wrapping her arms around herself.

"Damage? Elsa, you broke my heart." he replied matter-of-factly. "I am totally wretched. However, you are also devastated, I can see that."

"I am sorry."

"Just tell me. Tell me what's bothering you. Show yourself, your feelings, Snowflake.

The sweet sensation of a shiver tingled her body. She bit her bottom lip, ceased for a moment to consider his words, then, with a slow but very committed way, she nodded as her veins were burning with determination. Jack was right, she had to express her feelings and be honest.

"Okay." she breathed out and nodded once again. She darted her gaze on him, his blue eyes were calm and even though not so warm, they weren't cold anymore. "I thought you and Katherine were married and well, in love with each other. I mean, don't get me wrong, I wasn't jealous or anything, I just thought... Our relationship was inappropriate, considering you had a wife." she attempted to explain in a straightforward way, was being truthful.

"Pardon me. Inappropriate? In what way? I thought we were friends." Jack's eyebrows formed to a cute frown, he seemed confused.

"Of course we are!" Elsa immediately responded, she felt her cheeks burning. "I... Jack, I am sorry. I just never had a male friend, as close as you. I am still kinda new to this whole friendship thing. I thought Katherine would interpret us in a different way." she said honestly. However, she couldn't tell him the entire reality... So, she was kinda being a little dishonest at this point.

She admitted that her earlier thoughts sounded extremely stupid now. Nevertheless, she knew why she acted in that way. Of course, she wasn't in love with Jack, it has been only a week. Nonetheless, he intrigued her and even though they were in a friendship status, she knew, in the future, her platonic feelings would likely develop into romantic ones. That's why, while it was still early, she pushed him away.

"Snowflake... Look, you may have not realized it but I truly care about you. It broke me how you shut me out without actually telling me what your problem was. We should be honest with each other." Jack spoke silently, he sounded sad, his lips were pressed together and his blue eyes were opened widely. He looked like a kicked puppy.

"You are absolutely right." she spoke confidently. "Jack, if you want, I would like to tell you about my past." she offered.

"I would like that very much, Snowflake."

So she told him everything. She told him how she struck Anna with her ice, how she shut Anna out and isolated herself from everyone for thirteen years. She told him about the ice castle, how she froze the entire kingdom, how she learned to thaw her powers thanks to love. She explained to him about the mysterious voice, the history between Arendelle and Northuldra, the true reason being her parents' death, how she became the fifth spirit and saved Arendelle with her sister. She told him how much she valued her sister, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven.

"That's it." she finished eventually, and swallowed to ease her throat. When she realized that Jack was staring at her in absolute shock, his jaw was dropping to the ground, she added: "What?"

"That's it? Woah, lady, you have a life full of crazy adventures. Seriously, you are only twenty-four." he rambled in awe, caused her to flush. "You are such a strong female figure. I like that about you, Snowflake." he added nonchalantly, didn't seem embarrassed of his words.

However, she was certain that her blush reddened even more whereas her cheeks were burning due to the rising heat. "I didn't mean any of those words when we had argued, Jack." she blurted out, suddenly felt an urge to return to the main topic. "You are more than just an ally to me. You mean a lot to me and well... I like that nickname." she confessed, her ears were literally on fire.

All of a sudden, she felt her body pulled, two pairs of strong arms wrapped around her body, she could feel his hard, lean but muscular body. Automatically, her head was buried against his wide chest. His broad shoulders were trapping her upper body, not that she minded. "Promise me."

"About what?" she asked, instinctively she raised her head a little, her nose stroked his neck just a little. She could feel his breathing after he had said those words because his head was resting on her hair now.

"No matter what happens, I don't care, promise me that you will never push me away, never again." he mumbled, his clasp on her tightened.

It was a big commitment for Elsa. She was so used to isolating herself, she even avoided Anna, the person she loved most. But if she didn't vow to always let him in... She would lose him and she could never risk that. "I promise. I will never let go of you."

"Good. That's exactly what I want." he replied with his deep, smooth voice, made her shiver. He attempted to broke their embrace after a while, but she stopped him.

"I need a couple of minutes more."

"Fine by me." he breathed out, his lips were brushing her hair, she could feel them moving as he spoke. "I can stay like this forever."

She embraced him tighter, buried her head on his chest further as a response. "Really, that's the best you could come up with?" she couldn't resist the urge of teasing him.

Quite strangely, he did not say something snarky or sarcastic, he didn't joke. Instead, his grasp tightened, Elsa found herself feeling his forehead, pressed against hers while his nose was brushing hers. He shut down his eyelids, then reopened them, she was witnessing the most beautiful, bluest eyes, she could swear that there snowflake patterns inside of his orbs. "Together, Snowflake?"

"Together. Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you have tons of romance, drama and so on. I am a merciful author, of course, I won't make a love triangle... At least, not in this fanfiction because it's totally unnecessary. These dorks have plenty of problems already. 
> 
> Btw, did you anticipate Katherine to behave like that? Did you expect Hans to appear?


	10. Before Everything Falls Apart

"I am going to kill you!" Elsa and Jack heard a familiar female voice, basically roaring as loud as possible. The duo rushed to the meeting room rapidly.

The scene was quiet expected. Whereas Anna was throwing kicks into the air endlessly, Kristoff clasped her arms from her behind, preventing her to beat the hell out of the man with ridiculous sideburns. "Queen Anna of Arendelle, I anticipated more of a formality from you." Hans asserted with a calm tone as if he was disappointed with her.

No way. There was no way he could mock her precious sister. "Be careful, Hans. You wouldn't want to be frozen, would you?" Elsa found herself snarling at him, not that she minded.

"No, I wouldn't want you to freeze me like the way you froze Anna." Hans hummed with a fake innocent smirk on his face.

"Look at me, you ugly face." Kristoff ordered with a tough growl, his eyes were narrowed. Anna halted moving crazily as he finally let her go. Then, Kristoff took a step closer to Hans, his scowling gaze was directed at his green eyes dangerously. "If you mess with one of us, you'll deal with three of us. Being a gentleman, I won't hurt you for now but don't you dare to push your limits." he hissed in a threatening way.

Hans moved away from him a little as he brought his hand to his nose and pinched it. "Ever heard of tooth brush? Your breath stinks." before Kristoff could punch him, Hans managed to sneak away at the very last moment. "I may have attempted to murder Elsa and Anna, but I am not the only one here, am I wrong, dear Elsa?"

"Don't be the monster they fear you are."

Elsa stood still, her blue eyes were dull, she wasn't revealing any kind of emotion. "Talk to her like that again, I'll harm you in a way that you cannot even dare to imagine." Jack roared furiously when he realized how much those words hurt her. Elsa knew, she was attempting to avoid her sadness by being emotionless, like she always did. Jack also knew her habit, that's why he stuck up for her once again.

"Threaten me all you want." Hans shrugged in an uninterested way to indicate that he wasn't giving two hoots about Jack. "But she knows I am right. She would be a murderer if I didn't stop her."

He was right. If Hans wasn't at the ice castle, she... she could have killed those guards.

"Enough!" Aster suddenly rosed up from his seat and shrieked with his all might, he slammed his hands so strongly on the heavy table that it had clattered. He walked up to Hans with calm but thrilling steps. "Listen here, you little piece of shit-"

"Language." North warned his son, his lips curled up in amusement, his blue eyes were flickering.

"You are here because your family was merciful enough to give you a second chance and now, we are kind enough to help you out, only if you stay away from the sisters and the blond guy. Don't make me break every bone of yours because I swear, I'll torture you before everyone else can." Aster hissed angrily, he was succeeding if he wanted to frighten Hans to his death.

Elsa was surprised... no, she was utterly shocked. She truly did not anticipate Aster to behave like that. The oldest prince acted as the coldest person to her in this kingdom. They never had an actual conversation, they argued on their next strategy all the time, therefore, she thought they didn't see eye to eye.

It was always nice to have someone her back. She had this situation a lot since she had come here, especially from Jack. It didn't feel like she was weak or she needed their protection, no, it was quite the opposite. She felt strong when her friends stood up for because they... cared.

"King North!" they heard a shout behind the door, soon, it was wide open and Jamie appeared.

"Jamie!" Tooth cried out his name with a chiding tone. "I told you to calm down first!"

Behind them, Elsa could see Honeymaren, Ryder, Emma and Katherine... Katherine's gray eyes were entirely lifeless. The lock of her hair, which was placed over her right eye, was twirling around madly.

"What happened?" Jack interrogated them before Elsa could.

"My village... It's gone." Jamie replied, his brown eyes were full of distress and... fear. He was throbbing and panting... He was scared.

"Sólsetur? It is not even in north, not like Einstök. It lays on the east side of the island." North began to speak, he was stroking his long white bear, too deep in thought. "It is not feasible."

"It is!" Jamie yelled at his king in disagreement.

"Jamie!" Tooth admonished him once again. She was totally going to give him a lecture later.

"King North, I was heading home after my shift had ended. On my way, I've come across my twelve years old sister, Sophie. There were a few blood stains on her clothes and face, her hands were fully covered in blood. I was going to head to my village and investigate but Sophie insisted on not going there. She says that the villagers... It's like what happened in Einstök." Jamie clarified promptly, his brown eyes were glinting in worry.

"Jamie, I think you should rest a little." Emma spoke with a soothing voice, Jamie followed her suggestion without any hesitation. He settled down on a seat, Emma's left hand was on his shoulder, caressing it lovingly. It wasn't the right time for Elsa to think, still, their innocent love was heart-melting.

"We gotta go there." Anna stated firmly.

"I agree with her." Aster said, soon, everyone was nodding in agreement.

"I am also coming." Jamie attempted to get up from his seat but Tooth stopped him.

"Jamie, you shouldn't push yourself too hard." she exhorted, disproved his claim.

"Let him be, Tooth. He is strong and stubborn." Katherine said with a commanding tone, although she sounded extremely weary, her eyelids had been shutting down without her being in charge.

"Katherine? Are you okay?" Honeymaren inquired, being the one standing next to her, she reached out for her to check her condition but before she could, the auburn-haired woman was collapsing on the floor.

Ryder caught her before her body could hit the floor hard, his muscular arms were wrapped around her waist. The young man's jaw opened part away in shock while he was gaping at the slightly unconscious woman. He raised his head to glance at the others. "Did she faint?"

"We should carry her to her room." Jack spoke, together, the two young men carried the woman. Elsa decided to follow them, someone also needed to open the door. Soon, Katherine was placed on her bed, she was mumbling a couple of things under her breath that Elsa couldn't figure out.

"Does this happen a lot?" Ryder inquired curiously.

Jack bit his bottom lip and bobbed his head. "Only when she is too anxious or afraid."

* * *

Blood. And destruction.

The cottages were razed into their last pieces, there were bloodstains on the ruins, the ground, basically everywhere. Corpses were tossed to the corners, there was no sign of a living creature. Sólsetur, once the happiest village in the country turned into a ghost town, it was rotten, nauseating and no one would believe that once, people actually lived there.

"The slaughter is new. The corpses don't stink." Kristoff informed them bluntly, he did look uneasy though.

"Only ten people survived." Emma reminded them, she went pale while she gazing at the corpses. They all went there to see the situation in Sólsetur, even Jamie, Tooth and Hans, the jerkface.

"Fucking hell." Aster muttered under his breath, this time, North did not make a sarcastic comment.

"My parents, my friends... Everyone." Elsa heard a weak voice, she closed her eyelids and inhaled to ready herself. She whirled around, glanced at the eighteen years old boy, whose knees were buried on the bloody ground, his brown eyes were hollow. When she stared at his face, she could see his despair.

"There are fewer corpses than Einstök." Honeymaren spoke with a rigorous voice, she averted Jamie's heartbroken condition as best as she could.

"Sólsetur is a bigger village than Einstök, which means..." Tooth's weak, trembling voice trailed off. She wrapped her arm around herself as her quivering increased. When she let out a loud, broken hiccup, she placed her palm on her mouth. Aster came closer to her silently, their shoulders were touching each other and somehow, that was enough to slightly calm her down.

"Pitch captured most of the population." surprisingly, Sandy spoke out, caused everyone to startle. He wasn't talkative at all, he only opened his mouth if he was saying something extremely crucial.

"He is going to turn them to Fearlings." Elsa found herself continuing. Nonetheless, she wasn't in control, her voice sounded like it belonged to a stranger.

"He is creating an army." Jack proclaimed simply, she didn't peek at him, nevertheless, she knew he was feeling nervous, even though his voice sounded composed. She had an urge to hold his hand or hug him like the way the had embraced just a couple of hours ago...

"We should look around." Anna proposed plainly.

Jamie let out a dry, humorless laugh, he was still sitting on the ground, his hands were clutching the red grass. "And find what? More dead people? I wonder what village be the next. Or will it be us?" he said, his tone wasn't mocking, sarcastic and biting. It just sounded... beaten, overwhelmed.

North crouched down in front of the angry boy and directed his big blue eyes at him, then patted his head gently. Only a few words were spilled from his lips until they had left the town fully. "It's time, we have a war against Pitch Black."

* * *

The morning sun crept up on the room while the snow-white silvery haired man was snoring lightly, still asleep, too much occupied on his sweet dream. Nonetheless, a brief period of time later, he was slowly coming back to his consciousness. He frowned a little due to the light of the morning sun, nevertheless, it was still not powerful enough to fully wake him up.

The young prince snuggled closer to his big, fluffy pillow, a delighted smile settled down on his lips. He let out a happy sigh and nuzzled the cuddly pillow even further. "Elsa..." he whispered the most beautiful name in the universe, if you asked him.

Her soft platinum blonde hair, her innocent laugh, pure blue eyes, her fascinating voice, her incredible personality... He couldn't help but truly-

"What the fuck in the name of fucking fuck?!"

Jack groaned, disturbed by his stupid brother's yell that could be heard from a hundred-mile away. He was fully awake now, thanks to his aggressive brother who had anger issues. He got up from his bed reluctantly, rubbed the back of his neck while he was blinking sleepily. He let out a low yawn as he stretched out his arm and began to get ready for the day-

"Jack! Emergency!" Jamie burst into his room without even knocking it. Luckily, he has his pyjamas on him, normally, he preferred to sleep only in his boxer... Jack quickly brushed off the memory, the one time when Jamie had seen him naked. That was absolutely the most embarrassing moment of his life.

Nonetheless, he did not taunt Jamie about his unexpected appearance, simply followed him.

The young man stumbled when he caught the glimpse of something... gray, but the figure vanished before he could wholly take a glance at him. Jack shoved Jamie to his behind, cursed himself for not taking his staff with him.

"Show yourself!" Jack shouted with a stoic tone, he narrowed his eyes in determination.

"Um, Jack-"

"Jamie, call the guards- Whoa!" Jack screamed when he felt something furry grabbed him from the collar of his pyjama. Jack threw kicks into the air with all of his might. "Let me go!" he demanded while he was trying to get away from the paw that was clenching his clothe.

The creature that was clutching him yelped in pain. Jack was dropped on the ground with a loud thud, honestly, his butt hurt because of the contact. "Jack? Are you okay?!" he heard Elsa's voice, the platinum-haired woman has already been in his arms. She quickly pulled him up and tried to push him her behind so that she could protect him, but he stood there next to her stubbornly.

Jack finally had a chance to look at the creature in front of him. It was really tall, probably six to seven feet, had grayish-blue fur, long ears and massive feet. His emerald gray eyes were darted at Jack, Jamie and Elsa. He raised his paw, which was coated in ice. "Elsa, did you really have to attack me? Jeez, and you guys call me aggressive."

That voice... "Aster?!" all three of them cried out in shock, their jaws were wide open.

"Good morning." the oldest prince greeted them sarcastically.

"Y-You look l-like a..." Jamie stuttered out, Elsa continued for him, "A bunny."

Jack smirked mischievously and crossed his arms. "Nah, he definitely looks like a kangaroo." as soon as those left his mouth, 'Bunny' scowled and sent him a death glare that gave him shivers down his spine.

They heard a high-pitched scream from a room which was near, their attention was directed at the familiar voice. Aster's ear flinched, he began to run before anyone could. When he arrived at the door, where the scream had come from, he attempted to open it but failed, it was locked. "Tooth! I am coming!" he yelled and broke into the room by damaging the door.

There was a colorful creature on the floor, it was blocking its face with the human hands... But apart from that, the creature's whole body was covered in small iridescent contour feathers. It had massive wings, it looked like a humming-bird.

The bird(?) stood up weakly, then, turned around... She was a woman. Her arms were wrapped around herself, she had huge pink eyes and a normal human face, but there was no hair, only feathers.

"Tooth?" Aster called out her name, he was the one who had recognized her first. The others blinked severely. Aster was right, this birdish woman in front of them was Toothiana.

"Aster... What happened to us?" Tooth questioned him, surprisingly with a calm but weary voice. The bunny-shaped man wrapped his arms around the bird-shaped woman. Neither of them was saying anything.

"Katherine..." Elsa spoke, she was too deep in thought. "She said that the man in the moon awarded special people with magical powers. You two are just like Jack and Sandy."

Tooth and Bunny simultaneously whirled their head around to look at each other, both of them had a baffled expression on their faces.

Jack dismissed the silence, didn't let it last for long. "We all have to practice our powers and abilities... before everything falls apart."

* * *

"Good morning, Mother Goose."

The auburn-haired woman's eyes were opened part way, she shut them, but a second later, they were completely open. Her gray eyes seemed alarmed at first, but soon, they accustomed to the familiar environment, Katherine's room. The woman lifted, she was no longer laying, she was sitting on her bed calmly. She rubbed her forehead for a minute, then finally replied him back. "Good morning, Jackass. How long have I been sleeping?"

"Not much, twenty-four hours to be exact." Jack retorted jokingly. He settled his staff against the wall and sat down on the edge of her king-sized bed. "Were you having a good dream?"

Katherine's lips twitched, then curled up in delight, her gray eyes were glimmering in pleasure and happiness. "The best."

Jack nodded as he sent her a light, carefree grin. "Awesome. Wanna talk about it?" he asked casually, whereas he was running a hand through his hair.

"I prefer to keep it to myself." she replied playfully and got up, rubbed her face and then headed towards the window, removed the curtains so that the room brightened.

"You missed a lot of things."

"Pitch attacked Sólsetur, North declared war, Aster and Tooth turned into magical creatures." she said nonchalantly as if this information wasn't something new to her. She sat next to him, they were silently watching the wall in front of them. "Also, you totally dreamed of Elsa and harassed a pillow."

He smacked at her shoulder softly, his cheeks were burning, getting redder and redder. "Shut up, Mother Goose."

"Jackass." she replied instantly. Then she chuckled to herself. "Snowflake..." she murmured, her voice was barely audible.

"What?"

"Cling on that nickname tightly and never let it go... Don't you ever give up on that nickname, Jack." she advised, her features were solid, serious.

He flashed her a small, amused smile, eyes were flickering with determination and confidence. "I wasn't planning to."

"Not even when everything falls apart?"

"No, not even when everything falls apart."


	11. Siege Of Pitch's Castle

She smiled peacefully, even though she knew it also came off pale and bittersweet. She snuggled closer to the man, who was sitting right next to her, her back was rested against his hard chest. His one hand was on the top of hers, his thumb was caressing the skin almost shyly. His other hand was wandering around her hair, within each stroke, she was jiggling sweetly.

The sun was setting on the horizon, soon, the last of remaining sunlight would mix with the darkness and fade away. The landscape was breathtaking, the center of Northern Island was laying in front of their eyes, the waves were hitting the shore and the sound of wind whistling was absolutely mesmerizing.

If they were in different circumstances, Elsa of Arendelle would think that they had the perfect romantic atmosphere. However, the circumstance wouldn't let them.

It has been two months since King North declared war on King Pitch Black. Tomorrow... Tomorrow, the battle that they had planned for weeks would finally occur.

Tomorrow, there was a chance of never having tomorrow ever again.

So, the two young people, a man and a woman who were in love, decided to share their very last peaceful moment together.

"Snowflake." he whispered her nickname affectionately, his chin was resting on her head as he wrapped his arms around her body.

"Yes?" she asked softly, with an equal amount of passion. It has been two months and one week since they had met. It was more than enough for her to completely fall head over heels in love with him. She got the impression that he returned her feelings, nevertheless, neither of them confessed it.

"I refuse to lose you, I can't, even the idea of it..."

"Jackson. I-"

Her breath hitched when she felt her chin turned with a sort of a push by his slender fingers, his lips were on her forehead now, kissing it softly. "I beg you, promise me you won't sacrifice yourself or do something that will risk your life. I can't stand that, I... I can't live without you."

"I can't promise, Jack." she replied silently. "You know I can't." she gave an intense kiss on his cheek, she was clinging on him to make him feel her love. "I also know you can't promise me. This is who we are... We have the personality of winter, we don't run away from danger, we embrace it."

She craved for telling him that she loved him. God, how much she cherished his smile, his carefree, adventurous personality, his optimism, his protectiveness, simply everything that made him himself. Nonetheless, this wasn't the right time. They were both having an emotional outburst due to the upcoming battle.

"Elsa, I... I-"

She shushed him by putting her index finger on his smooth lips, her thumbs began to caress his cheekbones as her head rested on his neck. He pressed his forehead against hers, he was clutching her like the very same way she has been doing.

There was one particular promise that she could think of however. "Together, Frostbite?"

"Together, Snowflake." he bobbed his head a little and planted a kiss on her forehead once again. "Always."

There would be blood, that's for sure. There would be fear, certainly. However, the sun would appear on the horizon once again and would soar into the sky, that's for sure. There would be hope forever or else, they have already been defeated. And no matter what, there would be always, always love.

* * *

The daylight met the cold breeze, well, she supposed it was a little bit chilly because people seemed cozy in their armors while she was feeling too hot. Either way, the sun was fully on the deep blue sky now, allowing them to find their path easily.

The walls of the castle could easily be detected to the naked eye, they were really close to their destination now.

The army departed from the safe land, they have been on a journey for a day. Over the night, they had made a camp at a big meadow and left there before the first sunlight could replace the soon-to-be-finished darkness.

The army had parted their ways, when the left their camp, they were split into two. King North ruled the main forces, which consisted of 90.000 infantrymen in total, each of them had their own rifles and swords.

Prince Jackson Overland was in charge of the elite team, he had 10.000 men, the best cavalrymen among Northern Island, Southern Isles and Arendelle.

Their war strategy was simple but effective. Pitch's castle was located on the North Mountains, the third quarter of it was surrendered by sharp-pointed, massive mountains that had no vegetation. The mountains possessed only dark crawly rocks. There was only one clear path, which was not much of a challenge to walk and reach the castle. That path, however, led the way directly to the devil's inn, the massive entrance of the macabre castle.

The elite team was in charge of attacking the fort from the entrance, they were responsible for breaking the wall of the entrance and attack Pitch's troops. Each man had their own horse, so they would reach the destination faster than the main forces, that's why the bigger battalion left the camp area earlier. In order to destroy the main wall, elite team had twenty siege artillery, at least five men were in charge of one of them, so that the siege artillery could be utilized. Elsa created four ice giants that were similar to Marshmallow, each ice giant carried five siege artillery. They would also assist them.

The main forces, which King North was regulating, would attain the castle from the west while the elite team would go from the south. The road that the bigger army utilized was a lot more compelling, they had to get through from the massive rocks. Even though Pitch's fort wasn't laying on a high height, they still couldn't use horses, that's why the bigger battalion consisted of infantry, instead of cavalry. Also, they had twenty siege artillery and four Marshmallow-like ice giants just like the elite team.

Their goal was to break down Pitch's castle from the south and west, then to onslaught his army. It was as simple as that. Though... They had one more card to use: The special operation team that consisted of only three people, Elsa, Sandy and Tooth.

King North halted, did not take a further step. His army stopped as soon as he did, now, they were all glancing at the enormous walls. They've reached the castle. "Immobilise the siege artillery!" North yelled as loud as he could, the soldiers proceeded with their task as soon as those words left his mouth. Elsa signaled the ice giants to set down the weapons.

Jack's army would make the first move, when they smashed the wall, they would immediately send North the news, thus the King would order his soldiers to fire the artilleries. When the real mess began, the special operation team would get involved and take advantage of it. Elsa and Jack discovered that Pitch had windows in his throne room and they were certain that Pitch would hide inside his castle during the siege. Both Tooth and Sandy were capable of flying, so they would break into the throne room and afflict Pitch, once and for all.

They had 100.000 soldiers while Pitch had only 15.000. They knew the exact number because he took over five villages, 15.000 civilians were imprisoned in total. They were sure that Pitch turned them into Fearlings, the ghost-like monsters who desired nothing but to follow their master's orders. Of course, they didn't want to harm the Fearlings since they were only innocent villagers after all... However, they knew, they had no choice, they were in a war now. And no matter what, the Northern Island had to checkmate the King of Nightmares and win this battle.

Elsa of Arendelle was ready for the siege of Pitch's castle. Once she was a Queen, a leader and a ruler. She was raised to keep her strict posture in every kind of tough and catastrophic crisis, she was educated to overcome every kind of problem.

She did not, however, face the possibility of losing the people she cared for and two months were more than enough to make new loved ones. North, Aster, Tooth, Sandy, Emma, Jamie and Katherine... They were all her friends now, close ones. North and Sandy were fatherly figures, Tooth and Aster were like bigger siblings, Emma and Jamie were like smaller siblings and Katherine, she considered Katherine her best friend, next to Honeymaren of course.

She did manage to convince Anna, Kristoff and Pabbie to leave the Northern Island, they had to protect Arendelle after all. Nevertheless, Honeymaren stubbornly insisted on staying, Ryder, Olaf and Bruni remained with her too. Moreover, Anna sent lieutenant Mattias. He was North's second man in the war now, he was promoted to that position instantly.

They were so many people that she could lose, even the thought of it was enough to make her feel weak and well... afraid.

Lastly, Jackson Overland. The young man who understood her more than anyone else, her best friend, her confidant, the man she loved dearly. He was separated from the main force and his troop had the riskiest task. Yes, those cavalrymen were the best of the best, but they were only 10.000 men. Furthermore, that stupid jerk Hans escorted Jack as his second man. Elsa did not trust Hans, neither anyone in the kingdom but Hans was a good soldier and he was damn clever, cunning. She didn't want to admit but... he could avail.

"Hey, Queenie."

Elsa snorted, her lips formed to a small smile. "Hey, Aster." she greeted the prince with a slightly stiff tone. Even though she wasn't a Queen anymore, Aster used this nickname occasionally.

She flinched visibly when she felt his big paw on her shoulder. She averted her gaze away from his emerald green eyes, a deep scowl sunk into her outlines. "I am scared." she admitted eventually.

"Everybody is... Jack's gonna be fine. He is tough, strong." Bunny reassured her curtly. He was always so direct and honest, which was good a trait that she truly appreciated.

"Thanks, Bunny." the platinum blonde-haired woman rested her blue eyes on the tall rabbit and said those words meaningfully with a soft smile.

"King North, your Majesty!" they heard a shout. A soldier was rapidly approaching them at full gallop with his horse. "Prince Jack is about to smash the front wall!" the messenger proclaimed joyfully, he sure wasn't hiding his excitement.

A massive grin spread over North's wrinkled face, his blue eyes were shimmering with contentment. "Ready the siege artillery!" he commanded with his rotund voice. "I want every artillery to target the same spot!"

The gunners immediately commenced on their duty. First, they shoved the gunpowder down the muzzle of the siege artillery and pushed it all the way by using rammers. Then, each gunner tucked in the wax, which was a combination of cloth, oakum. Lastly, they placed the artillery ball into the weapon very neatly and precise movements. "Your Highness, the siege artillery are ready for your service!" the head gunner announced loudly, he was standing upright to reflect his respect for his king.

"Fire!" North demanded and bobbed his head, he closed his eyes for a moment to show his appreciation.

Twenty gunners picked slow matches, everyone stepped away from the rears of the cavalry. Elsa whistled at Bruni, gestured him to burn the matches. They had practiced this for two months, so without delay, Bruni light up the twenty slow matches less than a moment of an eye blink. Soon, each gunner was applying the burning match to the touch hole, where it met the gun powder.

The artillery balls left the weapons with a strong blast and slammed their target, a loud bang was heard in result. During the wadding shot, the gun itself leaped backward. It was the basic physic rule: For every action, there was an equal opposite reaction. Thankfully, the guns were immobilized to the ground.

As soon as the balls were out of the weapons, the spongers came in. Each one of them dipped their sponge, which was attached to a pole, into a bucket of water. Soon, they were sponging out the the inside of the guns, cleaning the burning wadding, the powder, which was char. If North ordered them to fire again, it was safe to put the powder back into the artillery.

However, this was not needed because there has already been a huge crack in the middle of the west wall of the fort. All it required was a little bit of a push... Elsa swirled her hand with a proud smirk on her face, the ice giants headed toward the wall with that swirl. They applied force on the wall by delivering punches with their extremely slow but powerful movements. After a few punches, the stones of the wall sank on the rocky ground, within the noisy sound of the collapse, the army cheered together merrily.

But it did not last long.

"Fearlings!" Aster shrieked with his stoic posture, nevertheless, there was a hint of concern hidden in his thick voice.

Elsa's vision was swarmed with darkness, the ghost-like black creatures were everywhere. Before North could order his soldiers to attack, the infantrymen have already raised their guns and pointed them at the nemesis. The Fearlings were flying toward them with their extremely disturbing and eery screams.

The soldiers were shooting them crazily but it was no use, Elsa focused for a moment, they had to fire severely in order to injure a Fearling, she did not know the exact number of bullets to kill them, she wasn't going to find out that soon since she didn't have a rifle.

The young woman began to strike the annoying monsters with her weapon-like ice, she was circling around herself to attack at the enemy that was approaching her from every side.

She caught the peek of the other soldiers' condition. Most of them were attacking the Fearlings with their swords or piercing them with the bayonets that were attached to their rifles whereas they were shooting promptly. The Fearlings were trying to get closer to them because they had no rifles or any other weapon, except their extremely sharp claw.

She witnessed a Fearling, bashing an infantry, his armor was ripped apart immediately. With another dash, the infantry tasted the monstrous claw. He was murdered brutally.

Elsa shook herself away from what she has just seen, she had to be emotionless now. The platinum blonde blasted ice shaped daggers continually, she didn't reserve a moment to feel triumphant when a Fearling collapsed on the ground with their ugly scream. If she got distracted, she was dead.

She startled when heard a high-pitched howl, really close to her ear. Just when a Fearling was about to dredge her skin up and she was about to respond to the unexpected attack by freezing the nasty hand, she was lifted up. She felt soft feathers, Tooth's arms around her waist, the bird-like woman was clutching her.

"We have been battling long enough. We gotta start with the operation!" Tooth yelled while she was flying towards the castle hastily. Sandy was also following them promptly, they all attempted to avoid the Fearlings as much as possible thus they didn't lose time.

"Head towards the north side of the castle, the window is there!" Elsa commanded Tooth, the woman did not respond, simply followed her request.

They caught their breath when they somehow managed to land on their destination. "Stay quiet." Tooth reminded them, her pink eyes were glaring at them with a warning look, Elsa and Sandy nodded silently.

Thanks to his golden magical sand, Sandy created a crowbar. He pressured the acclivitous part of the crowbar to the edge of the glass, then grasped it and pressured it with his all might. The pry open tactic was the quietest way to break into the castle that they could come up with. A couple of minutes later, Sandy's task was done, Tooth and Elsa took out the big piece of glass by holding the opposite sides. They carefully placed it on the outward side of the castle.

The trio glanced at each other, all of them ceased for a brief moment.

"Let's do this." Tooth eventually spoke out.

Elsa nodded in agreement. "Do not let him manipulate you." she cautioned them. Tooth clasped her once again, they have already been floating in the air.

She was not going to let Pitch weaken her, never again. He would never be able to get in her head. She had fears just like any other human. However, Pitch was not in control of them.

Elsa of Arendelle simply closed her eyes, sucked a deep breath and let the darkness take her.


	12. Cold Darkness

Darkness.

The great, eternal, terrifyingly tremendous might that could absorb anyone, even the most powerful one. Darkness was the nemesis of the humanity, it imprisoned them, consumed all their strength. Darkness caused danger, more importantly, obscurity.

Humanity, always, always was scared of the unknown. It was their greatest fear...

"You guys are okay?" she heard Tooth mumbling quietly, her voice quivered a little.

"Yeah." Elsa responded silently, Sandy did not reply, which meant he was also alright. "We should look around for..."

Her voice trailed off as a sudden chilly breeze blew out of nowhere and sent shivers down her spine. She inhaled the air that she has been holding without being aware of it. She could feel his presence, the presence of darkness summoning her. With instantaneous, rapid but imperturbable movement, she turned around.

"Toothiana, Elsa of Arendelle and last but not least, Sanderson. It is a great pleasure for me to host you." she heard that familiar voice, which was snarky, cunning and collected.

The King of Nightmares finally came out of the darkness, his golden eyes were flickering with satisfaction, there was this extremely hideous wicked smirk on his pale, gray and sharp features. He licked his lips for a brief moment, "I must say, I-"

Pitch was interrupted because Elsa did no let him so. Even though they had met only once, she was sick of his pep talk, honestly, he spoke too much. Thus, she sent him a series of ice blades promptly, not surprisingly, he got away from her attack by hiding in the shadows. Nonetheless, Elsa wasn't going to give up. Jack was right, Pitch's most dangerous weapon was his tongue, he was good at manipulating people, getting in their head.

"Dear Elsa, didn't your parents teach you how to listen to people? It is rude to interrupt someone." they heard Pitch's irritating voice through the darkness, it was getting on her nerves.

"Cut it out, Pitch! We are not afraid of you!" she shrieked confidently, her both hands were ready to fight and defend themselves from an unexpected motion.

"Elsa!" Tooth cried out, Elsa hastily turned around and blocked the massive arrow, which was aimed at her, by creating an ice shield.

More and more arrows came towards all three of them, Sandy released his powers and made a barrier of his golden sand to prevent themselves from getting wounded. They all searching around with their eyes to find Pitch, who was still refusing to leave the shadows.

"Honestly, Pitch, don't you think arrows are a bit old-fashioned, just like your robe?" Elsa taunted him, she hoped her snarky comment would make him pissed so that he would appear.

And finally, he did. His outlines were impassive, his arms were crossed together from his behind. Elsa sent him ice blasts, Sandy attempted to knock him down by clasping his wrists with the long golden sand whips. In fact, he succeeded to clutch the enemy's wrists, but Pitch did not stumble, not even when Sandy yanked the whips with his all might.

Pitch quickly grabbed the whip tightly with his long slender fingers and bent his head towards the floor. When his sharp, black hair rose up, they grasped the horrifying truth that was very much real and laying just right in front of their eyes. The part of the whip that Pitch was holding, had turned to black... Instead of Sand's golden, shiny sand, there was a disgusting stain of his toxic, merciless black sand.

Less then a moment of an eyeblink, both the long and narrow whips were black now, as if they were never golden, as if Sandy did not create them. Elsa caught the glimpse of the golden-haired little man, his brown eyes were filled with bafflement, his expression was solid. His healthy skin went pale.

Pitch let out a joyful laugh, that made him sound like a maniac. He was far too enjoying this, that lunatic psychopath has just manipulated Sandy's ability. "Took me long enough to learn this... Turning dreams into nightmares. Now, nothing can hold me back, my dear little... brother." he said that word oh so dramatically, Elsa and Tooth's jaws literally dropped to the ground.

Pitch's lips twitched once again, this time, his narrow lips formed to a nasty sneer. He chuckled briefly and shrugged. "Ah, he did not tell you, did he? So ashamed of his big brother, I see." Pitch raised her hand and observed his nails with an uninterested look in his face. Simultaneously, his other hand scourged the whip, as a result, Sandy's hands were cuffed.

Tooth attempted to cut the black sand with her sword, but just when she was about strike a blow, she was tossed to the ground, she was laying on a corner.

"Tooth!"

"No, no." Pitch threw a black knife at Elsa violently, but she managed to crouch down before the blade could stab her from her heart. "Don't cut me off, young lady. It is my time to talk... Forever." Pitch unleashed Sandy, ignored Tooth, who was getting up from the floor. He has just raised his fingers, his lips vaguely rippled. "Boo."

With that simple expression, her vision was pitch-black, just like the time when the Fearlings first appeared. This time though, there was no Fearling, not a single one. This time, there was something worse... Those massive, disastrous bodies with sparkling golden eyes... The Nightmare Horses. They were everywhere, floating in the air as they were fuming angrily, their gazes were darted at nothing but them.

"Enjoy." Pitch bowed down playfully, flashed another hideous smirk of his at them. And then, he vanished without leaving a trace, the darkness took him once again.

"We are not retreating." Tooh growled in hatred, Elsa did not look at her, but judging from her voice, there was no way Tooth was running away, the bird-like woman meant those words.

The three of them were standing back to back. Blue ice emerged on Elsa's hands, from the corner of her eye, she could see Sandy creating another whip and Tooth was grasping her sword tighter. "I take the left side, Tooth, take right, Sandy, whatever's left. Attack!" she declared loudly, they simultaneously departed away from each other and proceed with killing those horses.

She felt at ease for her friends. She couldn't see them whereas she was fighting, but it was okay. Tooth might have been a maid, but she was hella out of a swordswoman. It was as plain as the nose on their faces, she fought professionally, as if she was raised to chop those monsters with her combat skills. Besides, she could fly. Sandy could formulate basically whatever he wanted with his golden sand, he might have been tiny but he was a badass... They would be fine. She told herself this repeatedly, she had to focus on exterminating those hideous nightmares now.

The sharp ice was slipping out of her hands steadily, the ice was striking the horses and even though she had to blast a lot of ice, it was working, the horses were slowing down. She decided to take her abilities to the next level, there was no one, Tooth and Sandy were on the other side of the room so she could use her powers without the possibility of damaging someone innocent.

Elsa built a massive wall out of the most solid ice as she managed to get away from the Nightmare Horses' brutal, vicious attacks thanks to her fast and sure-footed reflexes. She directed the agglomerated ice at the horses, soon, they were stuck under the solid ice, probably were crushed under it.

A clap.

She was startled at that unexpected sound and rapidly turned around, found herself facing Pitch. "I admit, the Guardian of the Enchanted Forest, that was impressive. No wonder why the spirits chose you."

Whereas he was taunting her, she bit her inner cheek to prevent her growl and created an ice dagger. Just when she was about to jab it right at Pitch's stomach, the man caught her wrist and snatched the dagger away from her. She hissed in pain due to his tight grip, her wrist was aching.

Pitch threw the dagger way and raised his index finger. "Oh no, young lady, we are going to talk... Alone." and with that, the sight of Tooth and Sandy was beginning to fade away.

Between the shadows, Elsa managed to notice that Pitch was holding a crossbow, which was obviously pointed at a certain target. Her gaze wandered around lazily, her eyelids were begging her to be closed but she accomplished to see the arrow, hitting the victim. From the corner of her eye, she could also detect Tooth's fearful pink eyes and his name coming out of her lips with a miserable scream.

The last thing Elsa had seen was Sandy's bloodied corpse, collapsing on the ground. And then...

There was nothing, but darkness.

* * *

"Look out!" a random light cavalry yelled from his behind.

Jackson Overland turned around with a sharp somersault in the air, then he aimed his staff and quickly struck the Nightmare Horse. The ice blast hit the horse right from the stomach, it slumped on the ground of the fort, laid still.

The soldiers cheered for their prince, but Jack paid no mind. He resumed attacking whatever was dark, repeatedly. A while ago, out of nowhere, Pitch's Nightmare Horses appeared and the invasion became even tougher. They have been fighting continually for hours, he wondered when this would finally be over. He lost plenty of men, nevertheless, the majority was still alive and well, they were still motivated.

Jack saw a soldier, laying on the ground, he was creeping to get his rifle, which was at least a meter away from him. A Fearling was flying quickly toward him.

The young prince glued his legs together, then let himself go down in a calm demeanor. Since his eyes were completely focused on the soldier who was trying to reach the rifle, he deigned to turn his eyes only when he felt the sudden blow to his waist.

Another damn Nightmare Horse had made a hard attack on him. The second the impact came and the two foes looked on, Jack tumbled to the ground. When he opened his eyes, his first instinct was to look towards the soldier, but then he grasped the fact that the horse was galloping towards him, his hand searched for his staff, but in vain, he should have dropped his staff during the collision. So, Jack yanked the first thing he got, a rifle.

When he lifted the rifle and directed it to his enemy, the bayonet at the end of the rifle was stabbed at that hideous, creepy horse. As the horse slowed down, Jack had a chance to make a counter-move. The young man leaped off the ground and found himself sitting on the horse.

As the horse struggled, he threw the rifle at the cavalry, who had just been on the ground, who managed to stand up. Fortunately, the soldier was uninjured, otherwise he'd already be dead. Seeing the soldier shooting at Fearling, Jack now could deal with his own problem comfortably.

The horse began to run madly to throw him over, so Jack wrapped his legs around the horse's body, which was made of black sand. He managed to make a rope out of the ice without his staff and put it into the mouth of the horse, which was constantly neighing, then he grabbed the ice rope from both ends. As he pulled the rope hard to the right, the horse had to obey him so it began running towards the right. He was controlling the Nightmare Horse now, he was riding it.

During this fast journey, the prince laid his body to the right side, gave both ends of the rope to his left hand and grabbed his staff, which was on the ground. Finally reaching his goal, Jack impaled the pointy end of his staff on the Black Horse. Within seconds, the horse had turned into an ice sculpture.

Jack jumped off the horse, halted for a second whereas he was gasping. Meanwhile, of course, that was his luck, a big fuss happened. He heard the sound of an explosion... It was a really loud noise, the explosion had to be huge. The young man sighed and turned around... When he saw the person in front of him, his already-pale face went as white as a sheet.

Tooth... She had collapsed on the ground, her wings were looking down, she was surrounded by red feathers that had been severed from her body and there were small clotted blood lumps almost all over her body. Jack couldn't see Tooth's face because her hands were all over her face.

When the young man finally finished examining her, he attempted to speak, but someone else acted before him... "Tooth? Are you okay?!" Hans yelled as he approached next to her. He bent down and hesitantly touched her shoulder.

His action earned a death glare from Jack, nonetheless, he did not intend to warn Hans or beat the hell of him because he was too preoccupied with Tooth. "Tooth? What's going on?" Jack asked softly and crouched down in front of her, he held her arms gently.

Her suddenly pulled her hands off her face... Her pink eyes were filled with fear, her mouth and face was black and blue. "Sandy... Jack!" she cried out his name clutched on his body tightly, then within a second, she broke the contact and nudged him away strongly. "Elsa is in danger! You need to save her!" she wailed desperately.

As soon as those words left her mouth, Jack has already stood up. The young man darted his cold blue eyes at Hans whereas he was tightening his grip on his staff. "Hans! You are in charge!"

"Are you crazy?! You'll die if you go there alone!"

"I don't care. I have to save Elsa." Jack replied rigidly and with a determined posture, his eyes were glimmering with anger.

Hans's green eyes softened at those words, his outlines became more stretched as his bewilderment vanished. He nodded slowly. "Jack!"

"Yeah!?" Jack shouted while he has already been flying to save the woman he was in love with.

"Bring her alive!"

"Don't worry! I do not intend to stab her from her back!"

* * *

"Elsa!"

Was it her mother? Anna? Or Jack? Or maybe Tooth? It did not matter. She couldn't detect the tone, therefore whom the voice belonged to. Nevertheless, she could distinguish that the voice was crying out her name desperately, as if they were trying to reach her and save her...

"Elsa?"

She did recognize that voice. 'Anna?' she wanted to say, but her lips were sealed, not a single sound left the mouth.

"Elsa, do you wanna build a snowman?"

Yes.

"No." she said plainly, her tone was emotionless, utterly apathetic. She was screaming, struggling to say yes, but nothing came out.

Then, she saw his eyes, those big deep blue eyes that she had cherished so dearly. "Snowflake?" he asked with his rich, silky tone.

She yelled, it did not reach Jack because she was just a tiny particle, hidden inside her, she was too weak, pathetic and...

When she opened her eyes, it was gloomy. That damned darkness was devouring her soul. It wanted to creep into her veins and take over the control.

She was not going to let fear consume her. "Pitch! Show yourself!" she ordered, her chest was filled with pure determination. She stood up hastily but strongly, her armor was completely broken so she removed it and then fixated her clothes.

"You never cease to amaze me." he appeared out of the blue, for once though, his tone wasn't mocking.

Elsa bent down and hurled a kick at his leg, Pitch wobbled but did not fall. Still, it was enough to lose his posture, so she sent a series of ice, as usual, he was fast enough to run away from it. However, for once, her ice found its target. A sharp icy blade was stuck in his left shoulder. Pitch winced in pain, but his right hand did not go over his shoulder, this made Elsa puzzled, so now he had a chance to make a reverse attack.

When Elsa's gaze slipped down to her hands, they have already been handcuffed. Pitch removed the ice with a pained groan, blood leaked from his shoulder. He formulated a black cloth and pressured it on the wound. She could feel the presence of his gaze on her, but she refused to glance at him as the recent memories of earlier was finally hitting really hard.

"I am not a monster, young lady."

"You slaughtered the innocent villagers, destroyed everything they had valued for, imprisoned some of them and turned them into beasts. Also now while we are talking, the soldiers battle against them." she spoke calmly, her voice was strict, rigorous. She clenched her teeth in hatred and glared at him with a scowl on her face. "You killed my friend, Sandy. You murdered your own brother. So, yes, you sick psychopath, you are a monster." she spat out, her nails were digging her palms and the handcuff was getting colder and colder.

"Do you think I want it to go this way?" he roared, his voice sounded... frantic. "Do you know what it feels like to have everything you care about to be taken away from you? To long for a... family... You and I are not so different, Elsa. We are both misunderstood... A monster. That's what they think we are." he murmured, his golden yellow eyes weren't staring at her anymore. "That's what they think we ever will be." he stated as his face fell down. He seemed almost...

Sad.

The handcuff dropped to the ground, she did not know if her power or his caused it. She did not move a single muscle, simply glanced at the unhappy man with hollow eyes.

"I ask you, Elsa of Arendelle, what goes together better than cold and dark?"

She did not reply, she wasn't going to. Still, even if wanted to, she couldn't have because as soon as Pitch was finished with his speech, there was pressure on Elsa's throat.

Her blue eyes were wide open, now, the pressure was too strong. She managed to move her eyes upward and found herself looking at him, not Pitch... The Nightmare Man. His hollow white eyes were locked on her, normally, she would ponder about how a simple stare could give her this much goosebumps, but right now, she was desperately craving for sucking air because he strangling her.

She grasped his black arm, tried to dismantle his claw-like hand away from her throat but there was no use, he was too mighty. She concentrated her all power on her hand, his arm was turning to blue but again, no use, he was still choking her to death.

Jack... Her vision was starting to get blurry, she couldn't think straight because of the lack of oxygen. She did not know if her eyes shut down or not, but she knew she was seeing his stunning piercing blue eyes that had hidden snowflake patterns inside of them. If this was her very last moment, she was more than happy to spend it by remembering the details of his eyes.

Then, all of a sudden, she realized that the feeling of the strong pressure was gone, the grip was released. Elsa began to fall down, but she did not hit the floor.

"Elsa, love, breathe with me."

Her eyes fluttered, she caught the glimpse of his blue eyes, the deepest and most beautiful ones that she has ever cast her eyes on. "J-Jack."

"Just breathe with me. You are okay, Snowflake." he leaned to her, whispered sweetly, oh how much she missed his voice. His lean but muscular arms were wrapped her body, in fact, he was clutching her so tightly. She paid attention to what he had pleaded, so she exhaled and inhaled, again and again, she was coming back to her senses even though her throat was aching so badly.

She realized they were flying and getting away from them, the Nightmare Men and... Pitch.

Pitch was attacking the Nightmare Man with a black poniard, she couldn't see how that beast responded, Jack was flying so hurriedly, but she was sure that Pitch was trying to injure the Nightmare Man with the poniard mercilessly.

Eventually, she buried her head in Jack's chest, let the sound of his heartbeat and his scent soothe her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The one thing I hate about these two chapters is that I focused on Elsa too damn much. I am Elsa-centric all the time! My beautiful boy Jack also deserves attention, the other characters too. I really hope I can fix this problem in the following chapters.
> 
> Also, yeah, Pitch and Sandy are brothers. This is a theory of mine since I had first seen the movie. Anyway, please, please review? It means a lot to me!


	13. Scars

Peppermint and citrus. He smelled like a mixture of them, the nice fragrance was steadying her heartbeat. However, a hint of gun powder and sweat was also occupying his desirable, wonderful scent. She didn't care though, he still smelled so good and it was appeasing her, causing her to avoid the insufferable pain on her throat.

His arms held her protectively while they were flying expeditiously, her head was buried on his neck, eyelids were closed. She did not want to think, to open her eyes or to talk. All she could think of was that hand. It wasn't as sharp and deadly as a Fearling's claw but definitely, that hand did not belong to a human.

Inhaling and exhaling felt abnormal, every time she took a breath, she felt extremely lucky. That horrible feeling, the feeling of being strangled to her death was something she never wanted to experience again.

Elsa reluctantly lifted her eyelids, her blue eyes finally could see the sky, which was coated in soft, white clouds. She rippled for a brief moment, then confidently, looked down to see the ground. She had to know the situation of the war. However, they were flying too high, the soldiers were too tiny. She turned her head to see Pitch's castle, but it was nowhere to be seen.

"Jack... Why are we running away?" she found her voice and raised a question silently. It hurt too damn much to speak, she could barely swallow let alone speaking. She tilted her head to take a glance at his face. His piercing eyes were hollow, depressed even.

"We are not escaping, Snowflake. You did not see the battlefield as we passed by, did you?" he replied, a very grim expression had sunk into his features. This was very extraordinary of him, Jack was always optimistic, he was lively and vigorous.

"No... Jack, what's going on?"

"We had lost, Elsa."

* * *

Oxygen... It was a very simple procedure, actually. It was the simplest task that one had to do to survive, a simple instinct that mankind has been doing since birth. Pulling air from their nose into their lungs, allowing air to flow out through their mouth or nose. Breathing was easy to accomplish, but this basic process was extremely essential.

Elsa was struggling to fill her lungs with air, but in vain, the oxygen never reached its destination. The terrible pressure she felt on her neck crushed her vocal cords, her veins constricted and her legs trembled as she was choked to the death against a wall. Her lungs felt like they were tearing and when she died, they would eventually burst.

And the worst part... Those white eyes. Those creepy, vile, eye-like round things that glared deep into her soul. That black body, that demon she did not know who he was, where he came from... Her death would have been at the hands of that devil...

When she woke up, she found herself himself panting hysterically in her bed. She swallowed as hard as she could while her whole body was shaking, then she rubbed her eyes for a while and tried to distance herself from the nightmare she had just seen.

Two days had passed. It had been two days since they lost the war. All the bravery and heroism that was committed, all the blood that was shed, all the lives that were lost, all the people that had red liquid on their hands... it had been two days since all this happened. There was the smell of blood and corpses, although there were no blood or bodies in the palace, that was all she felt, that was all she saw.

She hasn't been out of her room for two days, hasn't had a bite to eat. Besides, no one had tried to get her out. So she was sure that everyone, like her, locked themselves in their rooms. Everyone puckered into a corner, thinking one by one of their sins.

The young woman stretched her pale legs down from her bed, slowly allowing her feet to carry her body as they made contact with the hard carpet. With shy steps, she sat at the make-up table, looked in the mirror, which was right in front of her and began examining her own reflection.

She looked terrible. Under her eyes were swollen and purple. Her platinum blonde hair was disheveled, it hadn't been combed even for once for two days. Her nightgown looked wrinkled and dirty. Her lips were as white as a sheet, her face looked like death warmed up. But the worst thing... The worst, disgusting, sickening sight was her neck.

She still had red marks, bruising around her neck. It was obvious that her neck had been clenched and squeezed mercilessly by one hand. On the left side of her neck there were claw-like fingernail marks, two days ago blood was flowing from that area and now the young woman would carry them her entire life. Those scars would remind her of the war, every single day.

Every single day, she would remember how Sandy got killed and she would suffer endlessly because she did nothing to save him.

"Go away." she whispered hoarsely when she heard the knock on the door, her voice came out like a howl. Her vocal cords felt better now, still, she averted talking as much as possible.

"The meeting is starting. You should come." she heard Hans's quiet voice.

The platinum blonde puffed and blew but started to get ready. She combed her hair, shaped it in her usual French-braid, then created a simple ice gown. She did not apply makeup, although she loved makeup, she didn't want to get all dolled up... Not after Sandy's death. She would wear black, but unfortunately, she didn't have a black dress in her closet.

Sandy... She swallowed and quickly wiped off the single teardrop that escaped from the corner of her eye.

She headed to the door, opened it swiftly. She did not glance at Hans, she would definitely puke if she saw him. Nonetheless, feeling his gaze, the young woman shuddered and directed her icy blue eyes at him. "What?" she snapped in irritation.

"You've never opened the door before... It's weird."

"I can't deal with you right now." she replied curtly and began to walk, she averted her eyes away from him.

When they arrived at the meeting room, Hans kindly turned on the doorknob and politely gestured her to enter. She stepped in without thanking him. She shut her eyes down, after Hans closed the door, she eventually let her eyes examine the mood of the room.

Jack, North, Bunny, Tooth, Katherine, Honeymaren, Ryder, lieutenant Mattias were in the room, they were all standing. Everyone's eyes were focused somewhere else, nobody was looking at anyone. Everyone had purple bags under their eyes. Those faces, once always cheerful, had almost forgotten to laugh, they were all pale, exhausted and broken.

"I would like to thank everyone in this room for attending." King North commenced talking, his thick voice was hoarse and reflecting his grief, he wasn't attempting to hide it. "Can we hear the statistic, so that everyone knows it?" he required softly.

"Your Majesty," lieutenant Mattias spoke out, his slightly wrinkled face was stiff and impassive. "We lost 70.000 men in total. Only 500 cavalrymen survived from the elite team." he declared, his voice shuddered a little.

A relentless silence filled the room. No one said a single word. Elsa struggled to control her breathing, her gaze quickly slipped to the floor, she was trying to control her tears. She couldn't find the strength to look at someone. Especially Jack and Tooth... She and Jack haven't spoken a word in two days since he brought her back to the kingdom. And Tooth... Besides her, Tooth was the only one who witnessed Sandy's death.

"What were you thinking?" Aster unexpectedly snarled with his usual angry voice, his emerald green eye though... They were mixed with sadness, sorrow and regret. "You can just leave your men at the battlefield. 9.500 cavalrymen died, Jack. They were the best among the three kingdoms."

"I know." the snow-white silvery haired young man spoke quietly, his gaze was locked on the floor, arms were crossed together.

"Out of all time, of course, you had to be irresponsible in the siege of Pitch's castle. Due to your immature behavior, nearly the whole troop is murdered." Aster resumed roaring at his younger brother, but his features weren't furious at all, they were fed-up... hopeless.

"I know."

"Aster-" Elsa began to speak because she just couldn't stand him, insulting, scorning Jack. She understood his point but he had no right to put it that way.

"I am aware of the decision I had made, I abandoned my team and I am ready to confront the consequences. However..." Jack's voice trailed off, his icy blue eyes were glaring at his older brother now. "I don't regret it. I had to save Elsa, if I faced this situation again, I would make the same choice without blinking an eye."

And finally, his glamorous piercing blue eyes landed on her, they softened. There was no way she could handle that gaze. She couldn't bear the sight of those breathless eyes staring at her with such love and devotion. "It is my fault. I wasn't strong enough to fight against Pitch, I couldn't even protect Sandy or myself... I am so sorry." she mumbled with a low tone.

"No." Tooth erupted while she was shaking her head in disagreement. "You've battled against Pitch and the Nightmare Man all alone. I was there with Sandy. It is my fault."

"Stop it. All of you." they heard the raspy but delicate voice of Katherine's. The beautiful woman's eyes were closed, her face was still. She looked vulnerable but somehow, also strong at the same time. "It is my fault." she stated softly and finally her eyelids fluttered, her gray eyes looked so innocent that Elsa wanted to give her a hug. "I should have suspected it. I can see the possibilities of the future, I should have pondered on them further and prevented this. Sandy, the elite team, the 70.000 corpse... It is all my fault."

"Enough." North spat out harshly, his blue eyes were full of anger. "I don't want anyone to blame themselves for what happened. It happened and it is over, sitting on a corner and crying won't make it better. You all fought as best as you could, 30.000 soldiers survived thanks to your efforts, don't forget that."

"Pitch won't stop." Aster began to speak as soon as his father's encouragement was over. "He killed his own brother Sandy and he claims that North hurt him... We have to find out what's the reason behind it. Father, did you know Sandy and him were related?"

North shook his head, then rubbed his wrinkled forehead while he was obviously pondering. "No. Even when Pitch was our ally... Neither of them mentioned that they were brothers." he answered while he tapping his chin with his index finger.

"I know we had asked this before but... Can you think of any reason why he hates you?"

"I know why." Katherine replied instead of North, her gray eyes were distant, her posture was stiff and rigid now. She was hugging herself, her chin was raised.

Tooth did not hide her curiosity whereas she was tapping her foot on the floor rapidly. "You do?" she asked, her pink eyes were gleaming.

Katherine did not respond, didn't even make a single gesture or mimic. She simply stared at the wall in front of her. No one dared to open their mouth, they allowed her time to think. Something was obviously preoccupying her mind. "I gotta go." she eventually said instead of clarifying what was bothering her.

"Katherine-"

"Jack, just... I need to go. I will explain. Later." the woman dismissed his attempt to help her. With swift and shaky steps, she got out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

Aster let out a weary, stressful sigh. He crossed his arms together and kicked the table, caused it to shake a little. "Elsa, Honeymaren, Ryder and Lieutenant Mattias. You guys should leave here now."

"E-Excuse me?" Elsa stuttered in disbelief whereas her eyes were growing wider.

"You heard me. This is not your war. Even if we fight against Pitch at this point... You should not participate in it." Aster alleged with a scowl on his face. Even though he was a bunny, he still managed to look serious.

"He is right." Honeymaren spoke before Elsa could make a rejection, caused the platinum blonde to glance at her sharply. "We have to go back."

"What? We can't just leave them?!" Ryder cried out, his eyebrows were tightly knitted together due to his perplexity.

"We can't just abandon Northuldra or Arendelle either. I know I sound cruel but this is the truth, the Northern Island lost the battle. We need to protect our land from Pitch." Honeymaren stubbornly argued, her strict outlines were reflecting her seriousness.

"We should also consider evacuating the country. I don't want Pitch to take more lives." Aster asserted, he was clearly at Honeymaren's side.

"Are you kidding me?!" Jack spat out, he was literally fuming in anger.

"Jack-" Tooth attempted to appease him, but the young prince cut her off.

"No. Where do you think we can accommodate the citizens?" he interrogated Aster with an annoyed tone.

"I am sure Arendelle can help you." Lieutenant Mattias answered calmly.

"Southern Isles too." Hans joined the conversation.

"No." Jack stated firmly, his jaw was tight and his eyes were narrowed. "Nobody has enough supply to take care of an entire county. We can't turn a blind eye at our people, living on the streets."

"Poverty or death, you choose." Aster growled angrily, he seemed fed up by this controversy.

"I choose hope. Aster, you out of all people... You taught me to never give up. We cannot give up now. We have to fight, no matter what."

"Jack-"

"Don't you understand?! Pitch won't stop! He won't stop until we defeat him. It won't matter where we are, Northern Island, Arendelle, Southern Isles... He will come and demolish everything."

"Enough! Stop arguing!" Tooth commanded furiously with a strong yell that made both brothers flinch in surprise. The bird-like woman was mad, which was unusual for her bubbly, cheerful personality.

Jack let out a low, infuriated laugh. He gritted his teeth and took once last glance at them. Then, he was out of the room, he didn't even presume to shut the door down. Before Elsa could register her action, she has already been following him, however, she ceased at the in front of the door when Honeymaren called out for her. The young woman whirled around to face her friend.

Honeymaren bobbed her head in disappointment. "I understand Jack is important to you. But both of you don't exactly comprehend that you are being careless."

Elsa did not say anything, she could feel her scowling due to sudden dizziness she has felt. She gulped, there was a lump in her throat now. She was speechless.

"Elsa." Honeymaren took a step closer, her voice softened a little. "You want to stay here because you want to accompany him... But what about our people? We have responsibilities."

Jack did not care about his responsibility when he abandoned his soldiers. It was selfish, yes, but he saved her life...

If she did not become obsessed about defeating Pitch, she would have saved Sandy's life too.

Elsa made her decision. She avoided Honeymaren's attempt to reach out for her. She took a step away, felt herself wincing in regret, however, she wouldn't feel guilty at all once she found him.

"I am sorry." she blurted out, without taking one last glance, she departed to find her beloved.

* * *

She strode calmly and as quietly as she could. There was no sound, except that her heels hit the floor with rhythmic harmony. The young woman continued to make her way without a certain wiggle on her face as she pressed her palms down. She opened the window at the end of the corridor, where she arrived very confidently. After looking around promptly but confidently, she put her out the window. Ignoring the slight blowing wind lifting her dress's long skirt from the end, she began to climb, she had no trouble climbing because she was familiar with the route.

When the platinum-haired woman finally arrived at her destination and saw the person she was looking for sitting on the rooftop, a faint wiggle occurred on her face, then she smiled a little. This place was their special area. It used to be Jack's hideout place, he came here whenever he needed to be alone. Nonetheless, he showed her this place about a month ago, so now it was their hideout.

Elsa quietly crouched down next to Jack, the young man turned his head towards her. After examining each other delicately with their blue eyes, they both turned their heads and darted their gazes at the horizon. The sound of children shrieking, running and playing in the street and the shouts of vendors, trying to sell their goods could be heard.

She felt him, slowly placing his hand on hers, she leaned to his side and rested her head on his shoulder as a respond. They slowly clamped their hands together, his fingers gently and fondly caressing hers, as if afraid of hurting her. She had always found these cautious moves too sweet. When they intertwined their fingers, she couldn't help but feel a warm tingle in her heart, to express that incredible feeling, her lips settled on his chin, gave it a light peck.

"I killed them. 9.500 men... They are brutally murdered because of me."

She hesitated for a moment, bit her bottom lip while she was choosing her words carefully. "We participated in a war, Jack. We all knew there would be slaughter and torture. A lot of blood was shed. There is no point of blaming ourselves, nothing can change the fact that many people died. We will carry this scar as long as we breathe, scars never heal." she spoke with a dramatic tone, she realized that her free hand was rubbing her throat, more specifically, the scar.

"But we have to move on." he proceeded softly, his blue eyes were gently caressing her features now.

"We have to move on. For the sake of the heroes who gave their last breath in order to protect their home, their family. We won't give up." she squeezed his hand, "We will never give up and fight until our last breath."

"And we will do this together." he murmured as he laid his staff and then his free hand reached out for her cheek. She tilted her head to stare at him, she could feel the presence of his blue eye, observing her. "I tried to fall in love with Katherine. I truly did. But when I looked at her, it was just... Katherine.

"I thought maybe I wasn't into men. I considered maybe I was into women. But when I took a moment to think further, I began to believe that..."

"You weren't into either of them. You were incapable of caring for someone romantically. I understand. I never cared for someone romantically until I met..."

"You."

"Yeah, you."

"Do you think it's because of the ice powers?"

"Maybe. Or maybe, we never found the right person until we had met." he whispered, his voice was becoming quieter within each word. His thumb was caressing her chin whereas they were leaning towards each other. "My father once told me if you saw the worlds, if you saw your world when you looked at a person, it meant that you were in love with them." he declared with his rich and deep voice, his blue eyes were refusing to look anywhere but her eyes.

"That's a good description."

"I know, " he chuckled between his words, however, his blue eyes were serious and full of-"You are my world, Elsa. You are the only one I see when I open my eyes as the only one when I close my eyes. I love you." he confessed without hesitation, without fear.

A genuine and wide smile spread over her face, she couldn't hide her happiness. "I love you too, Jack Frost." she replied and soon, with the presence of their lips kissing each other gently but also passionately, the two young lovers expressed their affection while they were enjoying that warm feeling that appeared only when they were together.

The wound on her neck would remain a bitter scar for the rest of her life. Every day she would remember that Sandy had died because of her, every day she would think back to that claw-like hands that strangled her. Even so, she could cope with all this pain because he was there for her. She had someone to share her pain with, to support her no matter what.

They may have been wounded, but ultimately, they would have been the ones, who inflicted the fatal wound.


	14. All Is Found

"My Katherine."

Gray eyes fluttered and less than a second, they were wide open. The auburn-haired woman let out a huge gasp as she realized where she was... Everything was white. There wasn't a single object or a person, her whole world completely consisted of a bright shade of white.

And then, there was him. His beautiful fluffy white hair, his friendly, boyish features and stunning pale green eyes. He was glowing. Even though they were standing face to face in the bright white nothingness, his sparkle was visible to the eye.

"Hi." she greeted the boy, who seemed younger than her, with a low voice. As years passed away, she became older and older, he remained just the same, he seemed around seventeen or eighteen at most.

The shy, yet friendly boy stretched out his right hand, his other hand was holding a very thin staff with a narrow but sharp diamond dagger attached to the end. Katherine accepted his hand without hesitation, soon, they were walking as their fingers were intertwined.

Within every step, the white nothingness them was evolving, the white ground turned to grass, then the dark sky appeared. The two of them soon found themselves staring at a lake, which was located in a forest. Katherine didn't pay attention to the trees, she didn't care about the details of the flowers, the lake or the full moon. Her gray eyes were locked on the boy, who was tightly holding her hand.

They sat down just right in front of the lake, they didn't leave a gap between each other, quite the opposite, she leaned to his side and gave a squeeze to his hand.

She felt his fingers, playing with the lock of her hair that fell over her right eye. She was too busy looking at his green eyes, she didn't watch what his fingers were doing, simply feeling them. "My Katherine... You are sad."

"I missed you."

"I missed you too." he whispered with a warm and fond tone, she slowly cupped his cheeks and caressed the pale skin with her thumbs. An adorable blush spread over his face. "But that's not the real reason you are here, my Katherine. Your power to come here is limited so you must use it wisely after all."

"Please." she scoffed and raised an eyebrow, her lips curled up in amusement. "As if you don't know me so well." she said and her small smile faded away.

"My Katherine..." his voice trailed off, he was clearly not planning to continue. Those words were enough anyway.

"I think I know why Pitch wants to take revenge... I just need you to confirm it." she states bluntly.

The white-haired young man let out a small sigh and turned his head, his fingers went away from her hair as his pale green eyes were now darted at the view of the lake and the full moon. "You don't need confirmation."

"So it is true." she chuckled bitterly and nodded her head to affirm that she understood him. "Pitch thinks it's North and also Sandy's fault."

"And you agree with him."

Her gray widened just like the first time she came here, his gaze was still directed at the bright, magnificent moon. "Look at me." she ordered as kindly as possible, he followed her command silently. Katherine gulped, considered denying what he said but it was pointless, he knew her. That gave him the ability to identify her thoughts and feelings.

She wasn't going to reply, so he proceeded. "You shouldn't blame North and Sandy."

"Easy for you to say. You are not the one who deals with grief every day." she snarled and removed her hands away from him. With a frown on her face, she shook her head in frustration. "Every day, whenever I open my eyes, that horrible feeling, grief is the first thing that comes to my mind. It hurts, it hurts so much-"

He placed his index finger on her lips, hushed her while his green eyes were observing her gray ones attentively. "The moon is beginning to disappear." he stated softly and gestured at the moon with his head.

"I-I don't want to go." she stuttered out. "Please, don't let me go." she pleaded, her eyes averted his gaze.

"I am always next to you. Maybe not physically, but my soul is always there." he declared with his deep voice. "Tell me, do you stop believing the moon when the sun comes up? The moon will rise again and I always be there, my Katherine."

She was crying, she knew she was. She could feel the presence of the tears on her cheeks. His fingers brushed against her cheeks, slowly wiping the tears away. "Tears of sorrow..." he murmured under his breath while Katherine was embracing him. Her head was resting on his chest.

When she opened her eyes, she found him holding a diamond dagger. She knew what he had done, he turned her tears of sorrows into a diamond blade. He motioned her to take it, so she grabbed the blade carefully. "What does this mean?" she asked and raised her head to stare at his green eyes.

"It means, when the right time comes, you will have a chance to end the war with this blade. Use it wisely." he informed her with his soothing voice.

The sun was on the horizon now, the moon was gone. They both knew she had to go now. She hugged him tighter and shivered under his touch, she was barely holding her urge to sob. "I will, I promise." she vowed with a low tone.

"I love you, my Katherine." he said and then, she felt his smooth, soft lips settled on hers. The kissed lasted only for a few seconds. "Sweet dreams." he whispered when they parted away, she knew she wasn't going to have nightmares due to this kiss.

While she was slowing fading away in front of him, her desire to sob finally disappeared, a genuine smile appeared on her face. "I love you too, _Nightlight_."

The room was dark, she could feel the well-qualified sheets and the hard pillow that her head was resting on, she absolutely hated soft pillows. She gulped when she finally realized the most important thing. Her hands... They were clutching a diamond blade.

A tired sigh escaped from her lips, she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight again. Feeling the dryness in her throat, she got up from her bed, hid the blade in her drawer and left her chamber with steady steps, she didn't wobble because for some reason, her eyes easily adjusted to the darkness than she had anticipated.

She went to the castle kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. When her thirstiness finally went away, she decided to take a walk. She couldn't exactly point out why she had an abrupt desire to wander around, she simply trusted her guts.

When she saw the platinum hair though, she mentally thanked her instincts, they were right as usual. The platinum blonde-haired woman was sitting on a sofa, which was placed in a random hallway. Of course, she saw Katherine approaching her but instead of addressing her, she simply whirled her gaze and glanced at her hands, which were resting on her legs.

"Couldn't sleep?" Katherine spoke out as she settled down next to the young woman. Elsa didn't respond, didn't even make a single motion or gesture. Katherine knew, something was wrong. "Nightmares?"

The platinum blonde woman shook her head as a no. Katherine analyzed her outlines. They were stretched and distressed, but she didn't seem terrified, her eyes weren't full of fear, they looked thoughtful. Elsa was pondering... She was weighing her options.

"You will accept his offer." Katherine claimed with her usual collected tone, she was certain on her statement.

Elsa quivered a little, her blue eyes were still averting her. Nevertheless, she didn't seem startled at Katherine's words. The fifth spirit quickly accepted Katherine's abilities, she wasn't questioning them unless like the others. Katherine liked that about Elsa. She felt like she was a normal being when she was with her. "I will... I am not afraid of him." Elsa retorted confidently, she raised her chin, her eyes were gazing at a wall now.

"What about Jack?"

"Pitch wants to meet alone. If I tell Jack, he will insist on escorting me."

"Elsa." Katherine told her name with a sharp tone. "You shouldn't hide something from Jack." she advised her.

"I won't lie to him. I will leave early in the morning to meet Pitch and talk. When I come back, I will explain to him everything, my thoughts, my feelings... My fears."

"So you won't be attending tomorrow's meeting and say farewell to our friends." Katherine declared what both of them have already been knowing. Tomorrow, they would talk about their approach and develop new tactics, then Ryder and Lieutenant Mattias would leave Northern Island in order to warn Anna. "Do you want me to lie?"

"No. Tell them the exact situation. Everyone may know that I will meet Pitch and have a conversation with him. He didn't warn me not to tell anyone." she responded with a calm and steady tone.

Katherine nodded, she crossed her arms together and laid her back completely on the sofa, let herself feel comfortable. "I have only one question."

"Go on."

"He appeared in your dream and said that he wanted to meet you... Did he give you a nightmare, Elsa?"

Elsa finally turned towards the left to face Katherine, her deep blue eyes were staring at her gray eyes cooly. Nonetheless, there was a presence of confusion hidden in them. "No... He didn't give me a nightmare."

They sat down quietly for a couple of minutes, neither of them excused themselves to leave. Kathrine's eyes felt heavy now, her eyelids were desiring to be shut down. The auburn-haired moved closer to the platinum-blonde haired just because her instincts told her so, their knees were brushing each other now.

" _Where the north wind meets the sea..._ " those lyrics spilled out of her mouth automatically, Katherine felt herself scowling in bafflement. She never heard this song before and yet, she somehow sang the lyrics with the melody that she knew it was right. " _Sleep, my friend, safe and sound..._ " she continued to sing, changed the word 'darling' to friend on purpose. " _For in this river all is found..._ "

" _But can you brave what you most fear?_ " Elsa finally accompanied her, her lips were curled up, she seemed a little bit sad, yet, happy. She was drawn away by her old memories.

" _Can you face what the river knows? Where the north wind meets the sea.._."

" _There's a friend full of memory_ " Elsa proceeded singing.

" _Come, my friend, homeward bound_ "

" _When all is lost, then all is found_ " the two girls sang simultaneously with their quite, delicate and meaningful voices.

Ultimately, the two young women fell asleep whereas they were leaning against each other, sweet dreams were adorning their slumber. Both of them had a peaceful smile on their faces.

* * *

"Young lady."

"Pitch."

Here they were, the King of Nightmares and the former Queen of Arendelle were standing in front of each other. They were in the middle of nowhere, encircled by tall pine trees. Although they were close enough to the center of the kingdom, the nearest settlement was a still few miles away. It was only them, no one else was there except for nature itself. The birds were chirping with their cheerful harmony, the sharp leaves of the pines were rustling due to the wind.

As always, he was wearing a black robe and she was dressed in her travel dress, just like the first time they met. However, now, when Elsa glanced at his face, she had mixed feelings.

"I am not going to accept your offer. I wondered about what you had said, about cold and darkness... We are not compatible, Pitch." she proclaimed rigidly, she didn't avoid being harsh.

"Then may I ask, the fifth spirit, why are you here?" Pitch asked with his cunning, confident voice. His arms were crossed together from his behind, he was sneering mockingly.

She stared directly at his golden-yellow eyes, but from the inside, she had to admit that she felt a little insecure... No, she wasn't going to let herself be afraid. She came here to talk with him because she couldn't stand not knowing the answers to the questions that have been bothering her for days. "Why? You saved me from the Nightmare Man. Why would you do that?" she inquired gently, a part of wanted to avoid his gaze, but she resisted. "You could have gotten rid of me so easily."

Pitch's features remained impassive for a brief moment, but then his lips formed to his typical wicked, hideous smirk. "I see. The naive good feels empathy towards the heartless evil... Did you seriously think that I protected you?" he said playfully and let out a loud laugh. "I expected better of you, young lady. I didn't kill you, because a part of me speculated you would do the right thing and join me."

"You don't have to do this, Pitch. It is still not too late-"

"Don't sound like an annoying hero." he snarled, his cool voice quickly changed to a sharp one. "They took everything away from me. Everything." he growled with a deep scowl on his face.

"That is not true." she announced without uncertainty.

"I killed the Dark Lord with my own hands and then what happened?! Look at me! I was supposed to be dead!" he roared, unsurprisingly, Elsa found her back rested against a tree, she could slightly feel the knife, which was merely inches away from her neck.

She wasn't going to fight back. She wasn't going to attempt to save herself and knockout Pitch because... Because, from the bottom of her heart, she truly believed that he wasn't going to kill her. Not today.

"You are suffering, Elsa. Killing you will put an end to your suffer."

"Then do it. Kill me." she spat out, her eyebrows were tightly knitted together. "You are also in pain, Pitch... I doubt you'll have a family if you continue like this. You are the reason for what happened, not North, Sandy or someone else. You are destroying your wish of having a family by your own hands." she hissed confidently. She might have not known what was the exact issue, but she had a guess. After all, Pitch told her that he was longing for a family...

"They promised me! They swore on their honor. I believed them but in the end, the Dark Lord murdered my daughter because they couldn't protect my daughter when I was on the battlefield!" he screamed at her, she flinched just a little. "I never returned from that war alive. Regardless one day, I woke up in a pile of dirt and found out that my daughter was dead... I saved the whole country but what's the point? She is not here now!"

What was the point? Nothing, it was pointless. Jack saved her from the hands of Nightmare Man and caused 9.500 soldiers to get killed because it would be pointless for him to win the war without Elsa. Wouldn't she do the same? For Jack, for Anna? People were capable of sacrificing everything for their loved ones, love was such a strong thing that made them think extremely irrational, such as believing wholeheartedly that your daughter's life is more important than thousands.

She felt herself breathing more easily as he eventually pulled away, he was now a few steps away from her, the black knife vanished. "What a shame." he spat out and tilted his head, his golden yellow eyes were averting her. "Next time I will have to kill you."

"Why don't you kill me now?"

"Young lady, why don't you kill me now?"

She didn't know. She simply followed her instincts, she assumed he was doing the same. They should have been combatting and trying to kill each other instead of having a conversation.

Elsa felt her scowl deepening. All of a sudden, she was aware of screams, the wails that were tingling her ears. She turned around and raised her head, found herself glaring at pine trees. Screams were coming from that direction, they were reflecting the terror. She whirled around promptly. "What have you done?" she barked at him, didn't attempt to hide her anger.

Pitch was snickering, she knew she wouldn't get an answer, she didn't need to anyway. She shook her head and glared at him for a brief moment to reflect her disappointment, then she whirled around once again and started to run towards where those bloodcurdling howls coming from.

It was all crystal clear. From now on, neither of them was going to show mercy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two questions: Did you expect Nightlight's arrival and what are your thoughts on Pitch?


	15. The Darkest Of Days

"On your left!"

Jack flipped towards left, grasped his staff with both hands and struck an ice blast at the Nightmare Horse, it was completely frozen now.

"Thanks mother!" he yelled back at Tooth with a cheeky grin on his face, he was trying to sound as playful as possible. Nonetheless, in reality... He didn't feel optimistic at all.

He was truly sick of this, the Fearlings and Nightmare Horses encircling them, attacking fiercely, terrorizing the places and slaughtering many people. It was all the same, grasping his staff, shooting ice strikes at the enemy repeatedly, somersaulting in the air and proceeding.

He had fought against them for hours in the siege, now once again, he was utilizing his all might to defeat the foe. It was worthless either way. Yes, he succeeded at freezing the beasts that Pitch had created, but they were so, so many of them. No matter how much Jack exterminated, new nightmares would always appear and resume spreading terror.

"Protect the civilians!" he heard North's yell from the distance.

The first attack occurred during the meeting, while Katherine was explaining to them that Pitch accused North of not being able to protect his little daughter. Nonetheless, they couldn't find the time to discuss this topic and their new strategy, they were too busy by battling against the unexpected onslaught.

Jack quickly flew when he realized that a certain auburn-haired was in danger, he yanked the woman and saved her from the Fearling that was trying to injure her from her behind. He detected a safe spot and landed on the ground, the woman that he has been carrying in bridal style jumped out.

"Took you long enough." Katherine mocked him with a playful sneer on her face. The two friends grinned at each other for a moment.

"Next time, I'll just leave you to die." Jack taunted her back, he was trying to sound as humorous as possible.

At the same time, Katherine hurled a dagger in Jack's direction, while Jack was busy freezing the nightmare from the woman's behind with a blast of ice. The young man heard the pained outcry of a Nightmare Horse behind him, he always found very cool that his best friend was a master at utilizing daggers. Katherine was truly a professional at using this weapon, she had a lot of little daggers, she was very skilled at removing them from all over her body and hunting down her enemies like a partridge.

The duo rested their backs against each other and took a moment to respire whereas Jack was tightening his grip on his staff, and from the corner of his eye, he could Katherine pulling daggers from her outfit. The woman had fixed a dagger between each finger, holding six daggers in total.

"I bet I can haunt more Fearlings and Nightmare Horses than you, Mother Goose." Jack challenged him with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"It's on, Jackass." her raspy and confident voice answered, he could feel her snickering in amusement.

They parted away simultaneously, proceeded to damage the beasts as rapidly and strongly as possible. They couldn't afford to lose, no, that was just not possible at this rate. If the enemy defeated them... Jack did not dare to finish that thought, right now, he should focus his all attention on the war.

"Jack!" he heard a mesmerizing, glamorous voice. The young prince flinched at the mention of his name, he gulped and shook his head to remind himself that he had to concentrate.

But, of course, a second of instability had a price. Therefore, the young man was not surprised when he realized he was writhing on the ground in a moment of pain. A Fearling or a Nightmare Horse took advantage of his situation and attempted to take him down. Luckily, he was indeed fortunate, because when he opened his eyes, he found himself looking at the most beautiful and blue eyes he had ever seen.

Elsa... She was here.

"Jack! Are you okay?" her melodious voice asked in concern whereas she was reaching out for him.

He rejected her hand with a slight push, got up from the dirty ground all by himself and glared at the young woman, his lover. He was angry at her, she left him without saying anything and he had to learn her goal from Katherine!

She met Pitch all alone! Yes, now Jack could see she was fine, she didn't have a scratch around her body, except for the scar on her throat and few other bruises she received from their battle. Still, what if Pitch had done something to hurt her?! What if she died? She should have been honest with him because well, he has always been truthful to her.

"I am sorry for keeping a secret-"

"Stop." he hissed and snatched her towards himself as he made sure that no one was attacking them, he then claimed his lips on her lips roughly and with so much passion. Instinctively, she responded and they deepened the kiss whereas they were clutching each other tightly.

"Oi! You can make out another time!" Aster barked at them from near, Jack detected the irritation in his tough voice. The giant bunny was covering them from the enemy, attacking them with his sword.

Jack pushed his lips against hers roughly one last time, then reluctantly parted away. She was panting, so was he. Her blue eyes were wide and vulnerable, she was clearly regretting her earlier decision.

"We'll talk about this later, Snowflake." he spoke gently while his thumb was caressing her chin. "Now, let's fight."

She knitted her eyebrows in determination and nodded hastily, he clutched his staff whereas she was positioning her legs into attack mode. Thus, they both started doing what they've been doing all the time lately, killing as many disgusting monsters as they could, leaving them to fall victim to their wrath, more specifically, their ice powers. Neither the enemy nor them was showing mercy.

"Hey, Jackass! I've killed forty in total! What's your score?" Katherine shrieked at him energetically, while he was busy with decapitating a Fearling's neck with an ice blast that he had created.

Forty? Was she exaggerating? Jack mentally facepalmed himself, he should have counted his score!

"Amatuers!" they heard Tooth's yell. "I have slaughtered forty-five!"

"Guys, can we please focus instead of racing?" Jamie shouted from the distance, he and Emma were fighting side by side.

"Nope!" Aster replied enthusiastically. Jack's older brother was certainly a killing machine, he was butchering the nightmares without spending too much effort, he was also making incredible acrobatic movements that left everyone in awe. Jack didn't want to admit but... Kangaroo was really cool in a battle.

Jack peeked at the others when he found the right time, he was feeling anxious for their condition. Honeymaren, Ryder, lieutenant Mattias... They were all okay.

His blue eyes began to search for Elsa, he mentally scolded himself for being over-protective, Elsa was capable of defending herself, after all, she was the most badass person he has ever met. Nevertheless... His instincts were begging him to be cautious and make sure Elsa was alright.

When his eyes finally found the woman he was in love with, Jack stood frozen, his entire body was overwhelmed by shock. It all went out so quickly but the scene was so vivid, striking. While the Guardian of the Enchanted Forest was busy freezing the creatures that swooped on her with her fast maneuver, out of the shadows and nothingness, that hideous, blood-freezing monster appeared.

The Nightmare Man.

In an eye blink, the beast was holding a massive black bow and arrow, which were glazing. The mysterious creature raised the bow, stretched it as far as it could, seated the arrow in the beam and took aim at Elsa's head.

As soon as Jack got over his instant panic, he started running and when he accelerated, he leaped and began to fly towards them at his full speed. They were a little bit far away, Jack knew it was too late whereas he was stubbornly aiming his staff at the beast.

The Nightmare Man let go of the bowstring. The launched arrow went perfectly through the air without any interruption, to its prey at maximum speed.

"NO!" he felt himself screaming, the pain in his heart was unbearable, intolerable, outrageous-

And then, there was the utter, eternal darkness.

* * *

"Elsa! Watch out!"

By the time she swerved around, the young woman had already been pushed so hard, she found herself stranded on the hard ground. When she turned around, the damage was already done, it was too late.

"Hans!" she found herself shrieking desperately, she got up and caught the redhead man before he could fall on the ground.

When she raised her head with a deep grimace, she found that the vile creature in front of her once again. Those eye-like hollow white grooves were staring at her, in return, she stared at him in disgust.

Unsurprisingly, the Nightmare Man lifted up his hand, he was clearly resuming with his upcoming fatal attack... However, he couldn't move a single muscle because he was repelled harshly by an onslaught that came from her behind.

She quickly turned head, her eyes grew wider when she detected the snow-white silvery haired man, who was floating in the grayish sky. Jackson Overland's skin was the bluest blue, so was his staff and his clothes. Only his messy hair remained the same. The young prince was shining like a star, blue lights were springing from his entire body and staff, spreading everywhere with a massive size and so much strength.

The second Elsa saw Jack's eyes, she closed her own eyes in pain and turned her head. Those eyes... The strongest blue glow was coming out of his eyes. The young woman had never seen an attack like this before in her life, Jack's luminous ice was swooping everywhere swiftly, meanwhile, the young man was creating enormous explosions of ice.

To protect herself and the innocents she could see around her, Elsa created icy spheres that surrounded their bodies. If she hadn't done that, things could have gotten so much worse, their end could have been like the enemy. After Jack's burst of power was over, there wasn't a single nightmare left, as if they haven't been fighting until a few minutes ago.

"Jack!" she cried out with her loudest tone when the young man began to fall. He clearly blacked out, his eyelids were shut down. Thankfully, Tooth has already been flying to save him, the woman caught the unconscious man. Elsa sighed in relief, she was aware of her dizziness now.

"E-Elsa."

That's when she realized. The black glazing arrow that pierced his torso mercilessly, from the hole in his body sticky hot blood was flowing. He was panting scarcely, his skin was as white as a sheet, his eyelids were half-open. His green eyes were pale, exhausted, his tight features and clenched teeth were reflecting the pain he has been feeling.

Prince Hans of Southern Isles was in the throes of death just right in front of her eyes as her arms were holding his body gently.

"Hans." she called out his name sympathetically, her mind was weighing whether she should remove the arrow or not.

"D-Don't b-bother." he sputtered weakly, his hand tried to push her hand away from the wound, but also she could feel was a basic touch, not a push.

"You will be okay." she lied, her voice trembled as she spoke. They both knew he wasn't going to be fine, on the contrary, he wouldn't be able to... survive.

"I-I am s...sorry... For... e-every...thing."

She didn't respond, she had no idea what to say to him. She didn't want to lie to him by soothing him that that it was okay, she accepted his apology and forgave him...

"I am sorry too."

Blood came out of his mouth, it began to leak from his jaw down to his neck. He coughed up blood on again, red liquid splashed across his face, as if an artist was painting the canvas with the brush that was full of red dye, in a haphazard way. Hans' lips wiggled in a vague, ambiguous way, then a faint smile appeared on his face.

The platinum blonde bowed her head down and closed her eyes when the soul of the young man left his body. After it was gone, the paces of his heartbeats vanished along with it, the lifeless corpse remained still.

"Thank you for saving me, Hans."

* * *

"You know, we could have been friends... If you hadn't shut me down."

"Maybe. We could have been friends... If you hadn't tired kill me and my sister."

"It's too late, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

* * *

"Katherine."

The auburn-haired woman felt herself groaning in pain, instinctively, her hand went to her head. As her fingers brushed against her forehead, she could feel that it was swollen.

"I am fine." she growled with a hoarse voice and got up from the ground all by herself. Nonetheless, a couple of seconds later, the woman stumbled and collapsed, her legs were on the ground. She stooped while her whole body was shivering. She felt so nauseous, she would definitely throw up if her stomach wasn't empty.

She stood up with the assistance of Tooth, lifting her by pulling her waist. Katherine fixated her clothes, she reminded herself to act in her usual calm self. Her gray eyes began analyzing, the scowl on her face deepened.

North, Aster, Tooth, Honeymaren, Ryder, lieutenant Mattias, Jamie... They all had a grim expression on their pale faces, their exhaustion was crystal clear. Katherine blinked severely and pushed them aside, they were blocking her from-

"Jack!" she wailed in concern and sunk next to Emma.

Jack's young sister was clasping him, her head was laying on his stomach, Katherine couldn't detect her face. Nonetheless, she could easily hear the loud sobs of Emma, her whole body was shaking with the process.

Katherine tumbled backwards in shock as she examined the young man with her huge grey eyes. His hair... His hair was in a deep shade of brown instead of snow-white silver. His once pale skin looked healthier now, it was fair-skin, he looked precisely like his sister.

There was not a single hint of frost around his body or clothing. His staff... His staff that once covered with frost was now utterly brown and it looked like a simple piece of woodwork.

No... Not Jack. She promised Nightlight, she vowed him to keep Jack, his twin brother safe. More importantly, Jack was her best friend, he couldn't... He couldn't die.

"I-I think he is in a coma, his heart still beats." Emma whimpered between her wails, she didn't remove her head so her voice sounded muffled.

Katherine breathed out in relief, however, it only lasted for a very brief moment. "Jackson!" she heard a delicate voice screeching desperately.

Elsa hurled herself on Jack, her piercing blue has already been filling with tears as she winced in misery. She was panting, her French-braid was loosened, her hands... Her palms were covered in blood.

"We should evacuate the kingdom." Katherine declared quietly, desperately intended to continue but her vocal cords did not create a single sound due to the lump in her throat. She turned her head away from the platinum blonde, salty tears were streaming down from both of their faces.

Katherine bit her bottom lip and eventually managed to find her voice. She cleared her throat, her features tightened. "The story hasn't finished yet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well said the storyteller, the story hasn't finished yet! Did you guys like the chapter? Please review, it motivates me a lot. Love ya all!


	16. The Last Of Us

_"Come, my darling, homeward bound_

_When all is lost, then all is found"_

When he woke up, he realized that he was inhaling strongly, followed by a harsh exhale. When his blue eyes opened widely, he lifted from where he was laying, his sudden movement caused him to wince and his head to throb.

Jack moaned as he placed his palm on his forehead instinctively whereas he was beginning to be aware of the improbable, sharp pain nearly all around his body. His back, chest and torso ached most, he guessed he probably had plummeted, then tumbled down.

"Jack!" he heard Elsa's shriek, he couldn't quite grasp if she sounded relieved or miserable, maybe a mixture of both.

Either way, it didn't matter because he found himself in her arms, she was grasping him so hard as if her life depended on it. He blinked, then shut his eyes down and wrapped his arms around her body, pressed their bodies against each other.

His eyelids lifted up as the memories flowed in. In the blink of an eye, he remembered Pitch's unexpected attack, their fight, the Nightmare Man directing his bow and arrow at... "Elsa! You are okay!" Jack yelled in surprise, he could feel himself beaming in relief.

"Took you long enough to wake up, bloody show pony."

"Hey, Kangaroo." Jack muttered under his breath, his beam turned to a devilish smirk.

Aster looked a little bit different. His features were more reserved, his tone was calmer and his emerald green eyes seemed softer than the normal. Jack's naughty smirk vanished because it developed to a sincere smile. Aster was worried... because of him.

"I feel fine, amazing even!" he claimed, tried to sound as joyful as possible.

"You are far from amazing, Jackson." Elsa scolded from the crook of his neck, he was aware of the wet tears on his collarbone. "You fell down from the sky after you dismissed an entire army, Jack." she whispered, her lips were stroking the end of his neck as she talked.

"Ouch, Snowflake, you don't believe your boyfriend is amazing?" he joked to cheer her up.

He had beaten an entire army? What? The last thing he remembered was the Nightmare Man, attempting to murder Elsa.

"It is a miracle that you don't have an internal bleeding, you just have several wounds and little scars. Katherine claims you wouldn't be alive if you didn't have your powers." Aster proceeded to explain.

Jack removed his one arm away from Elsa, he raised his palm and created a single snowflake, his eyes shimmered while he was watching the little snowflake in awe. "I guess I am lucky." he mumbled quietly.

"You are. We thought... We thought you would never wake up." Elsa choked out with her muffled voice.

"Why would you think that?" he asked, felt himself scowling in puzzlement whereas he was clasping the young woman tighter.

"Your hair... When we found you, laying on the ground unconscious, your hair was completely brown, you had a fair-skin instead of a pale one. We thought you had lost your powers, that's why we feared you would never wake up ever again." Aster clarified with his husky voice, his gaze dropped on the ground. He closed his eyes and flinched in discomfort, was clearly recalling that moment.

"Hey! I am awake and alive now! Just injured, not in a coma or something. Now, can we get out of this room so that I see the others?" Jack dismissed the depressed, heavy atmosphere in the room with his reckless and loud manner.

He squinted his eyes, his frown deepened when he realized that he had used the wrong word. They weren't in a room, far from it actually. He was sitting on a bed that's for sure, but this one wasn't his bed. It was made from snow, he could understand it by the material of the sheets. There were no windows in the 'room', only black, shapeless walls...

"We are in a cave." Elsa informed him and eventually broke away. She fixated her posture as she stood up, then stretched out her hand to assist Jack standing.

Surprisingly, he managed to get up rather quickly, his body felt sore due to his injuries but it didn't have a problem with moving. He wasn't lying when he said that he was fine. He felt healthy and strong.

"How long have I been sleeping?" he ultimately asked the question that has been bothering his mind, he was chewing his inner cheek nervously.

"Four days."

* * *

"Jack!"

"Em!" he yelled back, he wobbled a little as he felt the weight of his sister on him, the girl was embracing him so tightly that he gasped for breath.

"Emma! Release poor boy!" North commanded with his typical thick and cheerful voice. The old man basically snatched Jack away from Emma, didn't care about her objection.

"D-Dad!" Jack shrieked, North was hugging him so strongly that he was now seriously out of breath. He knew, his father wasn't using his full strength but damn, his bones could be easily crushed if the old man pressured them just a bit more.

"Ho-ho-ho! You are okay, son!" North laughed in his unique and weird way as he released Jack, then he patted his head with a massive grin on his face... North used to be always like this before the war, however now, because of the war, his father was stricter and tougher.

Next was of course, Tooth. Her embrace was softer than North's and Emma's, it was motherly, tender and sweet. Jack felt appeased with the presence of her touch. "Jackson Overland! Don't you ever do something like that ever again." the bird-like woman hissed, however, her voice was caring and warm. He smiled a little, swallowed to ease the lump in his throat.

"J-Jack!" Jamie stuttered out with his innocent voice that melted his heart, his best friend jumped on him and gave him a brotherly hug.

"Dude, stop being dramatic!" Jack mocked him when he felt Jamie's body, shivering in distress. The young man broke the embrace and beamed sheepishly in return, he nodded silently.

He felt himself smirking mischievously when his eye caught the glimpse of a certain auburn-haired woman. "Mother Goose." he greeted her and bowed exaggeratedly.

"Shut it, Jackass. You gave all of us a heart attack." the woman growled sassily but she couldn't hide the huge smile on her face.

She threw herself into his arms, tightly held him for a brief moment, then parted away. Her hand went to her face, she quickly wiped away her tears while she was still beaming at him with so much emotion. Jack's lips curled up sadly, he put his hand on her arm to indicate his support, to show that he was alive and well.

He turned away slowly, his blue eyes locked on the platinum blonde-haired gorgeous woman, so he began to head towards her. Nonetheless, before he could reach his destination, he felt fluffy arms, which were coated with gray fur, clutching him. Jack's eyes grew wider as the realization of Aster, hugging him, hit him hard. Hesitantly, he responded the embrace.

He loved his brother, he knew Aster also loved him, but they always acted as if they hated each other. It was overwhelming and flattering that they were hugging each other in front of everyone. They didn't say anything when they eventually parted, just smiled kindly at each other.

Honeymaren was also there, she was standing right next to Elsa, holding her arm. The young woman removed their contact and Elsa threw herself at him, even faster and stronger than Katherine. He wrapped his one arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"Here." Honeymaren handed him his staff politely, a small smile appeared on her composed face. He offered her a light beam to thank.

As soon as he touched the staff, a blue glimmer occurred inside of the staff, it illuminated the dim cave for a moment. Then the staff stopped glowing, now, there were the trails of frost on it.

"So." Jack spoke cockily whereas he was wiggling his eyebrows. "What did I miss?"

"We are the only ones in the Northern Island. The whole county is evacuated." Emma informed his brother, while she was caressing Jamie's hand.

"Pitch... He destroyed every single construction, including the castle. This place, this cave is our hideout now." Tooth declared, her gaze bent her head towards the ground, her wings were looking down. At least, Aster was soothing her by resting his arm on her shoulder.

"We had to make sure that you were okay." Katherine murmured, her arms were wrapped around herself. "And now that you are..."

"It is time to fight." North announced with a determined frown on his face.

"One more thing." Elsa spoke out with an icy tone that caused him to startle. "Hans is dead."

* * *

Jack pecked the tip of her jaw, then shifted towards her mouth, pressed their lips against each other roughly and passionately. Eventually, they parted away due to the lack of oxygen, he placed his forehead on hers, waiting for his heartbeat to become steady.

"We should talk." Elsa mumbled with a tired sigh, she nudged her nose to his cheek with affection.

"Yeah, we should... I am all ears." he broke the contact and rested his blue eyes on hers. She seemed exhausted, knowing her, she probably hadn't slept properly for four days. Aster told him that she had never left his side even when he was in a coma.

"I-I... I don't where to start." she stuttered out with a distressed tone as she averted her blue eyes away from him.

"Maybe you can share your feelings on Hans' death?" he suggested in a supportive manner whereas he was raising an eyebrow. "I know he tried to murder you before but..." his voice trailed off, he motioned her to continue.

"Hans and I have a brief acquaintance." she blurted out and darted her gaze at him with a composed attitude. "Years ago, when I was fifteen, we... we met, sort of. He and his family paid a visit to Arendelle and well, he just happened to crouch down in front of my door after his brothers bullied him brutally." she explained, she was fiddling with her fingers, seemed too deep in thought. "We had talked for hours. I was lonely, he was vexed. We both needed to let our emotions out... It was nice to have someone to talk to and he partly understood me." she confessed quickly. "Nonetheless, I absolutely despised him after he tricked me and attempted to kill me and Anna in order to obtain more power."

"He saved my life, Jack." she blurted out eventually, her eyes were reflecting her confusion. "He threw himself in front of me without hesitation, I owe my life to him. I don't feel sad or happy that he is dead. I just... I wish he could know that I am thankful. He deserved to know that."

He searched for words, but nothing came across to his mind. He just pursed his lips and pulled the young woman closer to him, rested his jaw on her hair softly. They stayed in that position for minutes, neither of them opposed breaking the silence.

"I am sorry, Jack. I should have told you about Pitch. I was afraid because..." she eventually continued but her voice quietened rather rapidly. Her hand was caressing his chest, her other hand was gripped by him.

"Elsa. If you are uncomfortable with telling me-"

"Pitch saved my life too, you and I both know that. I was frightened because I thought you would disapprove of me, making empathy with him. I felt bad for him, Jack. I... I wanted to believe that there was still some goodness left in his heart. I understand it now, he is heartless." Elsa admitted her feelings, her eyes were avoiding his gaze once again.

"Snowflake. I have already known this."

"W-What?!" she stammered.

Jack let out a small smile, he kissed the top of her head and rubbed her hand. "I know you, Els. I am not angry with you because of what you feel towards Pitch. Honestly, I find it admirable. You still can see the goodness in him. You are so merciful, compassionate and generous. It is the reason why I-" he halted himself, he bit his tongue. It wasn't the right time to confess his love, not in a situation like this. He wanted to tell her how much he loved him when everything was finally over. "... admire you."

A deep shade of red spread over her cheeks, he found her blush so adorable. His beam grew wider, nevertheless, he resumed speaking. "I just wish you'd been honest with me. We are in a relationship, Snowflake. You should understand that you are not alone, I am always here for you. Please don't hide secrets from me, a healthy relationship exists thanks to honesty, respect, trust, loyalty." he mumbled, his voice was getting sadder and sadder. "I trust you, Snowflake, I wish you trusted me too."

"I trust you, Jack. Please, never doubt that." she requested, her voice quivered a little bit. "I... I have fears. Not about Pitch or the war. Shamefully, I let those fears make me feel insecure about myself, that's why I tried to deal with things all alone. I am still not wholly used to having someone, supporting me all the time. I am scared that one day, you won't be there and you'll leave me because..."

"Because? Why would I ever leave you?"

She had tears in her beautiful large eyes, her lips were trembling. Elsa blinked as she wiped her tears away, didn't let them stream down from her face. "I am not capable of getting pregnant, Jack. Pabbie told me that my powers prohibit me from having a kid. Even if I get pregnant, the baby can't survive because of my powers." she choked out with a raspy voice, soon, she was bawling in pain, her head was now buried on his chest. "I will never be able to give a born to a child."

"Oh Elsa." he whispered with so much love, he tenderly left a trail of kisses on her eyelids, cheeks, lips and chin. "I won't leave you. Never. It is still early to discuss but yes, I would like to have kids. However, you are more important. Besides... I can't exactly, um, you know... I am infertile too."

"What?"

"Pitch mentioned your dilemma when we first met. At first, I thought you didn't want to be a mother... Then it hit me that you couldn't have a kid, even if you wanted to. So I went to Pabbie, I found out that I was in the same situation as you." he explained silently.

She let out a small sigh and shifted between his arms, he found himself kissed fully on the lips. As they both gave in the tender, affectionate kiss, they shared their agony. "We will be together, right?"

He chuckled a little, then closed his eyes as the sensation of relief took over his body. "Together, always."

* * *

"I assumed you were sleeping. You need to rest."

He shook his head silently whereas he was pulling his legs closer to himself. "I've been sleeping for four days. I should stand guard tonight." he reasoned, offered the brunette woman a kind smile.

Honeymaren settled down next to him, her brown eyes were staring at the dark sky. She seemed pensive, and sad.

"Why didn't you leave here?" he blurted out, he was actually baffled at his unexpected question, nonetheless, he proceeded. "You always wanted to leave Northern Island in order to help your own people."

"I still want to. Pitch can attack Northuldra anytime when he desires." she replied with an apathetic voice, her features were impassive. "Either way, I can't leave Elsa alone."

"You are in love with her." he said, it was not a question, it was a statement that he was incredibly certain about.

The way Honeymaren looked at Elsa, the way her eyes light up when she saw her, her over-protective behaviors... she only genuinely smiled when Elsa was around... Most importantly, she didn't leave her side no matter what, even when her own people was in danger.

Honeymaren did not seem shocked, not even for the slightest bit. She gulped, then sighed deeply. She stared at her hands with a sulky face. This was enough for his statement to be confirmed.

_"I thought maybe I wasn't into men. I considered maybe I was into women."_

Elsa tried to love Honeymaren. She truly strived.

"I am sorry." he whispered with a ponderous expression on his face.

"For what?" she inquired, she let out a dry, bitter laugh. "It is not your fault. She can't love women, even if she wants to. It is... fine. I learned how to cope with it. I know I've been different since I was a little girl. My first crush was a girl named Eryn, she was such a sweet, adorable, kind-hearted person... When I discovered that I liked her, I also understood that I had no interest in men."

It was not fine. Knowing that the person you love would never love you back... Jack shivered at that horrible thought. Even the imagination of Elsa, turning him down felt as if a knife was stabbed right at his heart.

"Look, I know she will never have romantic feelings towards me, so I... I am glad that she loves you, instead of another man. I can see that you genuinely love her and you will treat her like a Queen, you know that she deserves the best." she spoke softly, a gentle but weak smile formed on her lips.

"Thanks, Honeymaren."

"I didn't do anything that would require you to thank me. If you hurt her, I will hunt you down, torment you until you let out your last breath."

Jack raised his eyebrows and nodded hastily, pursed his lips in an awkward way. "Duly noted." he responded, mentally made a note that he should never get on her bad side.

After that, they didn't speak a word, there was no point in talking. Instead of wasting energy, they both focused on their job, staying guard.

Hours later, Honeymaren quickly stood up, Jack has already been gripping his staff. Both of them were on the alert when they saw the flood of black sand, approaching them. It was the time, time of the last battle.

"Do you think we can win?"

"What any other chance do we have?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel really bad for Honeymaren. Can't say I am proud of this chapter, I admit it was a bit rushed... Anyway, please review? See you in the next chapter, love ya all!


	17. The Last Battle, The Last Hope

"Aster!" she shrieked in terror, she hurled herself at the rabbit, who was lying half-unconscious on the ground.

It wasn't an unexpected sight. The blood from his mouth flew in a thin line, his eyes shut down, he was trying to lift his eyelids with his all might but he only managed to half-open them... Before Emma could detect Aster's injury, Jack, who was holding Tooth, gently laid her down.

Now, next to Aster, Tooth was laying on the dirt, she was groaning in discomfort with her soft voice, was racked with pain. She gripped her knee tightly whereas she was writhing violently.

"What happened?" Emma questioned her oldest brother quietly as she bent down next to him. She needed to distinguish their problem and heal them as soon as possible. She was secretly praying that their injuries weren't too serious or fatal.

"My right arm, a Fearling broke it." Aster managed to answer with a low grumble, Emma's eyes have already been focusing on his right arm.

He had a swelling over the bone, there was of course deformity, thankfully, his bone wasn't sticking out of the skin.

"Jack, create some ice." Emma ordered with a stiff tone, she didn't take her eyes off his eldest brother, not even for a second.

She ripped a piece of fabric from her tattered dress, put the ice Jack had extended to her on top of the fabric and pressed it gently on the injured's swollen arm. When Aster hissed in pain, Emma reminded herself to be softer, the pain in the injured area would get worse if the area was moved or pressure was applied.

"I think Tooth also broke her bone." she heard Jack saying calmly, she took a brief peek at him when he crouched down next to her.

"Where, exactly?"

"Her left ankle."

"Well," Emma snarled harshly, she didn't bother to behave kindly at this point. "Apply ice on her ankle, I will take care of her once I am finished with our brother."

Once again, she gave her all attention to the tall rabbit. "Aster, sit down." she commanded to him whereas she was remembering the treatment of a broken arm step by step.

The rabbit nodded imperceptibly, Emma helped him to remove his back from the ground. Now, his back that was blanketed with grey fur rested on the cold wall of the cave. She had to immobilize the arm and shoulder by placing the arm with a sling. "Aster." she called out his name, this time, gently. "I am going to lift your arm, alright?"

Before he could respond, she neatly placed his broken arm across his chest, Aster winced but did not bemoan. Emma rapidly fumbled around a bandage in her medkit, when she found it, she immediately folded it into a triangular shape.

She placed some clothing between the broken bone and the bandage, she tied the sling to support the arm. After clasping the bandage tightly over his shoulder by tying the knot over his collarbone, she folded the point of the banged and fastened it with medical tape.

As soon as she was done with treating Aster's arm, she bent down towards Tooth and began to deal with her broken ankle. Thankfully, neither of them had bleeding in their broken areas.

Emma was not a doctor, she didn't even define herself as a medic, however, she was always interested in this subject. That's why, North made sure that she received an education from the best doctors in the country. The years of education was in fact, really beneficial. She at least, was professionally capable of sewing open wounds, cleaning bruises before they could get infected and bandaging them. She was proud to say that she had saved a lot of lives back in the siege of Pitch's castle.

"Hold on, Tooth!" the young woman shouted while the bird-like woman's growls were becoming louder and louder, this was causing Emma to shudder. It was normal for Tooth to be in pain, a broken ankle surely hurt like hell, but in order to bandage it, Emma needed to be calm.

She flinched visibly when she heard the typical, annoyingly noisy and gruesome screams that belonged to the Fearlings. She gulped and exhaled in frustration, berated herself.

"I gotta go." Jack stated hastily, her gaze shifted to her brother in worry. She didn't want him to leave, she didn't want any of them to go to the battlefield and risk their lives. Her family, her friends, her lover... They all fought in a war that was impossible to gain a victory while she was sitting around and waiting for them to get injured.

She turned her head when she heard Aster shifting, the tall rabbit was standing up. "Wait for me, Jack." Bunny announced as he cringed a little.

"Pardon me? Aster, where do you think you are going?" Emma inquired with a demanding manner, her brown eyes grew bigger in bafflement when Tooth also strived to get up.

"Guys... You should rest, at least a little." Jack made a logical statement and backed up for his sister but it was no use.

Aster assisted Tooth by grabbing her from her hand. The bird-like woman was floating in the air, she was slightly leaning to the giant bunny. "Our war is not over yet." Tooth replied curtly, her once cheerful voice was nothing but grim, dreadful.

"Aster, you literally lost the function of your right arm! Tooth, you can't even place your foot on the ground let alone walking! You can't fight!" Emma cried out matter of factly.

Bunny pulled out his boomerang from the single-strap holster that was attached to his back. Normally, he held two boomerangs, however, since his right arm was broken, he had no choice other than using only one. Meanwhile, Tooth was removing her sword from the scabbard that she was wearing, her pink eyes were flickering in determination.

"We are fighting." Bunny proclaimed confidently.

"Until our very last breath." Tooth finished his sentence.

Neither Jack nor Emma opposed to their decision.

* * *

Jack gritted his teeth, he managed to get away at the very last moment, if he didn't, his corpse would be laying on the ground.

The young prince grunted in pain, his free hand found his shoulder. He gazed at his shoulder with a sharp breath that escaped from his lips, he cursed to reflect his execration. His right shoulder was bleeding, blood was gushing out of a huge slit.

Jack quickly applied pressure in order to stop the bleeding, but the battle was continuing. He leaped backward when a Nightmare Horse attacked him. His left hand clenched his staff, promptly, he shot an ice blast at the horse. He was more used to utilizing the weapon with his right hand, but his shoulder hurt too much, he knew his left arm would fight more efficiently.

"Jack!"

"Emma, I am fine!" he exclaimed with a rushed attitude, he didn't want his sister to get distracted because of him.

Emma, being the stubborn girl she was, insisted withstanding next to them, he didn't want to risk her life by letting her aid his wound on the battlefield.

Once again, the enemy approached, this time, a Fearling. They tried not to kill Fearlings, only defuse them. However, things were different now, they sometimes had no choice but to murder the Fearlings, who were once the citizens of their own kingdom.

He quickly shook that horrible thought away as he froze a Fearling in an eyeblink. They couldn't afford to let their emotions weaken them, even a second of deficiency was enough to receive a fatal wound.

He was demolishing the opponent almost reflexively, he wasn't thinking new tactics, wasn't peeking at what the others were doing, he just let his body handle everything as he was desperately striving for not to ponder on negative thoughts.

Speaking of them... Did they actually have a chance to win? He was feeling more and more full of despair within every minute, they were ten people in total, and they were against thousands.

There was something much scarier than losing a war... It was losing hope. Jack knew, he was getting closer and closer to that level. If he lost his last hope, he would also lose the last battle.

"Jack, watch out!"

The warning came too late, the young man has already lost his balance, he slumped on the ground with a heavyweight on him, he sizzled as he attempted to push the tall rabbit away. However, no matter how much effort he had pulled, it was no use, Aster didn't budge, not even for an inch.

He hissed in pain once again, this time more aggressively when someone else was tossed toward his side, their back hit his head hard. He somehow managed to raise his head a little and tilt it towards the right, the figure laying behind him was Jamie. His young face was covered in bruises and plenty of little scratches.

"Jack!" he heard Honeymaren yelling in worry. Aster shifted on the top of him as Honeymaren stood in the breach and nudged Aster, the young man was finally able to breathe properly when Aster moved away.

"Is Elsa okay?"

The brunette woman assisted him to stand up, nonetheless, the two found themselves being hurled, they plummeted. Jack felt himself being crushed under someone heavier than Aster. This time, it was Tooth and Emma that came to the help of them, they hastily pushed North and saved Jack. At least, Honeymaren was laying next to him, she was unharmed.

"Elsa is okay, right now, you should worry about us. Honeymaren replied silently.

Jack observed the condition they were in. North, Jamie and Aster were laying on the dirt, he couldn't grasp if they blacked out or not. Tooth was flying, obviously, she was still in great pain due to her broken ankle. Honeymaren must have split her lip, it was swollen, apart from that, she seemed fine. Only she and Emma were standing, although they looked like death warmed up, at least, the two girls were in a better condition than them.

That wasn't going to change anything. No matter how much they resisted, they had no chance against the King of Nightmares.

Jack didn't yelp, wince when slender fingers yanked his messy hair and clenched it by making a fist. Even though his knees were on the ground, his upper leg was raised up because the figure, who was clutching from his hair was standing up. His blue eyes searched for his staff, before he could detect where it was, he was forced to stare at the familiar hideous golden eyes.

"You lost the war, Jackson Overland. Soon, you will lose everyone you value for, your family, your friends, your beloved Elsa. And I, the King of Nightmares, won't kill you, I won't even torture you. For the rest of your pathetic life, you will torment yourself. Despair and fear, those two will be your only companions." Pitch Black spoke with a calm manner, he didn't sound snarky or irritating... He just stated the facts.

Pitch was right. It was over, there was no way they could win, they were ten against thousands... It was unfeasible. Nonetheless, he was not going to let his last hope slip through his fingers, not just like that.

Jack attempted to smack at Pitch, but the man easily caught his arm and blocked the attack by twisting it. He didn't break it, still, his arm hurt. Either way, Jack hasn't done yet, he created a lean ice blade with his free hand and sought to stab Pitch from his torso, nonetheless, he has already been thrown away for the hundredth time, very hardly.

He struggled to get up, he failed miserably as Pitch placed his foot on his chest. When he pressed his foot strongly, Jack clutched his ankle but in vain, Pitch didn't move a muscle.

"I told you, Jack. Fear is the true ruler of this world."

Upon these words, Jack's lips wiggled vaguely, a sly smirk appeared on his face. From the corner of his eye, he could see the last hope. "Pitch, I hate to interrupt your so-called victory but... You may wanna turn around."

The black-haired man frowned in perplexity, he slightly whirled around to understand what Jack had meant. Meanwhile, Jack has already snatched his staff that was sent towards him. He pointed his wooden staff at Pitch as the tiny, short man with golden yellow hair appeared next to him. Pitch's face went pale, his lips parted as his bafflement increased.

"Pitch," Jack said mockingly, his smirk turned to a toothy and cocky one, Sandy was ready to attack his brother with his golden whip. "I haven't lost my hope yet."

* * *

"Elsa, look!"

Her gaze quickly shifted to the direction where Katherine pointed with her index finger, as soon as she saw the scene in front of her, her eyes popped out of her head with astonishment.

Only a few seconds ago, all she could see was darkness, shadows and emptiness, however, now she could see the golden light that was getting brighter and stronger. Sandy. He was a light that came out of despair and darkness. The yellow sand was responding to the black sand, it was not only resisting it, but also attacking, destroying the darkness mercilessly and was quite successful in its purpose.

Not a single Nightmare Horse or a Fearling could touch him, the little man would take them all down in one maneuver without even glancing at them, his brown eyes, which gleamed with a mixture of determination and anger, were focused on his one and only target, Pitch.

She felt Katherine, pulling her from her wrist, the two women were running hastily towards the center of the battle, where Pitch was fighting against Sandy.

Sandy was repeatedly attempting to take Pitch down with his whips, Pitch was blocking his fast and strong attacks with a long, wide scythe that he had created with his black sand. Meanwhile, the others were assisting Sandy by slaughtering the nightmares.

By the time the duo arrived, Sandy has already captured Pitch by wrapping his magical whips on his wrists. Pitch couldn't escape with a cunning maneuver, the deep scowl on Sandy's face was definitely implying that Pitch wouldn't get rid of him, not anytime soon.

Pitch... He was defeated. The terrified, aghast look on his face told her so. Whereas Sandy was clenching his whips, Jack approached next to Pitch, then he tripped him up, this way, he was knocked down with a loud thump.

Jack directed his staff at Pitch, the crooked end of it was nudging his sharp chin as blue lights were coming out of it. "Are you sure that fear is the true ruler of this world, the King of Nightmares?" the young prince taunted him with a sneer on his face.

Before Pitch could answer, before Elsa could realize she had opened her mouth, she screamed out her thoughts in a desperate cry. "Jack! Don't hurt him!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I must focus on Jack and Elsa, their relationship and their special moments.
> 
> Also me: ...I want blood and violence and dramatized events... Lots of them.
> 
> Me once again, because I am a talkative person: Please leave a review, love ya all!


	18. Every Time You Leave

There was one simple word to sum up their situation: Unexpected.

"Jack! Don't hurt him!"

Of course, simultaneously, everyone including Pitch turned their attention on Elsa, who has just made such an unexpected, odd exclamation.

More surprisingly, after glancing at his girlfriend for a brief amount of time, Jack retreated, his staff's crook edge wasn't pressed against Pitch's jaw, not anymore. He didn't hesitate to follow Elsa's order, not even for the slightest bit. Sure, it was crystal clear that Jack trusted Elsa but he also certainly hated Pitch's guts. Therefore, Katherine found his decision a bit unusual.

She admitted herself that she had underestimated the trust that Jack reserved for Elsa. His love was greater than his hate. She, on the contrary, the love and hate she had felt formed a whole with each other, they blended and became unbreakable.

That's why, after Bunny lifted Pitch to his feet with an angry grunt, after Sandy stuck his wrists together and put the golden sand handcuffs on him, Katherine moved swiftly and without thinking, she simply trusted her instincts.

She was not astonished by her impulsive act, however, her friends were surely startled... She harshly yanked Pitch and then, in a flash, she pulled out the diamond blade from the hidden pocket of her armor. Less than a second, the sharp point of the dagger was brushing his sickly pale throat.

"Kath-"

"Elsa." she shushed her with an impolite manner, she knew she would apologize to her because of the way she treated her, but certainly, not now.

The tone of her voice caused everyone to lapse into the silence, no one dared to say anything. Even the Fearlings' hideous, high-pitched screams and the Nightmare Horses' neigh quietened.

Her lips twisted in pleasure due to the sudden power she has just gained. The King of Nighmares' fate was in her hands.

Katherine was given a lot of names by a lot of people. She has been called fortune teller, psychic, witch. She was a noble, a princess... However, none of those titles satisfied her. She was Katherine, just Katherine, she was a woman whose heart was buried in deep agony because the man she loved had been murdered such a long time ago.

That's exactly why, her diamond dagger was still pressed against her biggest enemy, the pointy edge wasn't piercing the skin, however, with a tiny, effortless push, he would perish in her hands.

"Give me a single reason not to kill you."

As expected, she met Pitch's typical, cunning and nauseous sneer, his gray teeth were making her want to vomit. "Your Highness," he bent down to bow, his movement was quite exaggerated. "I am afraid I do not know what I had done to personally hurt you."

"You ruined my life." she declared, her voice was steady and frigid. She was not going to lose control, her temper and her dignity. "You took who I valued most."

"And may I ask, your Highness, who that might be?"

Her lips trembled, she could feel her eyes becoming watery. She closed her eyes as her face fell down... She had to get herself together, she couldn't afford being weak. "You were a hero, you were the general that saved Northern Island. But despite the false belief, you were never dead, not really. When you found out that your daughter deceased, you blamed North for not being able to protect her. Twenty-five years ago... You, Kozmotis Pitchiner, Pitch Black or whatever you call yourself, you bloodied your hands by murdering a newborn baby for the sake of getting revenge."

"Nightlight." he stated dryly.

"Yes," Katherine raised her head and locked her eyes into his golden ones, tears were streaming down her face and there was no way she could prevent that. "The Dark Lord didn't kill him, you did. You killed him without batting an eye. Give me a single reason not to do the same. I don't have the chance to see the man I am in love with in real life, I don't have the chance to live happily ever after with him because of you."

Pitch did not respond.

She was startled by the delicate, cold hand that touched her arm, she blinked, then turned her head towards the right, she was still clenching the diamond blade.

"Katherine. Don't hurt him."

Instead of replying, her tears began to fall down more quickly, at least she wasn't sobbing like a baby.

"I can give you reasons, plenty of them. If you kill him, you prove that you don't trust me. Katherine, you are the most compassionate person I've ever met, what would Kailash think of you if you murdered a defenceless man?"

"Elsa... What would you do if he killed Jack? What would you do if the man you love was taken from you?" she asked, her voice sounded weak and hoarse.

Elsa's blue eyes saddened, her gaze was so sorrowful and intense that it gave Katherine goosebumps. The platinum blonde whirled her head and stared at Jack, who was standing right next to her. He too, had a grim expression on his face. "Pitch would have been dead much longer ago. I would kill him, without hesitation. However, you are not me, Pitch is still alive, this is evidence that you can't murder him without blinking an eye."

That's exactly when she finally realized. All her friends, North, Bunny, Sandy, Emma, Jamie and Honeymaren were waiting and silently witnessing what was going on. No one intervened because Elsa required them not to harm Pitch.

A faint smile spread over her face. It had been a few months since they had met. A lot had happened in these few months. They put their heads together and developed a war strategy, they fought side by side. Katherine befriended with this woman, who repeatedly risked her life for them. She shared her thoughts, her fears, her secrets with her. This young woman... Elsa was a friend that she genuinely respected and valued. Of course, just like the others, Katherine counted on her.

"I trust you." she declared her thoughts aloud and with that, she shoved the diamond dagger that was tickling Pitch's throat back into her sheath.

"Are you always this much overdramatic?"

"Shut up, Pitch." Jack growled, Katherine could swear that she saw his blue eyes literally flickering with an angry passion.

"So what now?" Pitch inquired nonchalantly as he ignored Jack. He raised his wrists to draw attention to them. "My wrists are itching because of the handcuffs."

"I am gonna itch you myself if don't shut your God damn mouth." Bunny threatened him while he was scowling.

"Now Pitch, you order your minions to stop attacking, then you turn the Fearlings back into humans. Most importantly, I want you to tell me where the Nightmare Man is." Elsa commanded with a queenly manner, she was dead serious.

She didn't have to finish her sentence because Bunny acted faster than her. Everyone jolted when he hurled his boomerang with his left arm. Katherine promptly twirled her gaze towards the direction that the boomerang was going, unfortunately, the Nightmare Man vanished before it could hit him.

"Stay on guard!" Jack instructed them with a stiff tone whereas his grip on his staff was tightening.

"I have my eye on Pitch." North informed them, he was firmly clenching the black-haired man from his wrists.

Katherine pulled out her diamond dagger once again, this time, she was not going to pause.

Elsa and Jack were blasting ice at the enemy, Bunny was flipping his boomerang through the air, Tooth was battering the hideous creature that floated in the air with her swords. Emma, Jamie and Honeymaren were assisting the Fearlings that Pitch was reluctantly turning into human beings.

Katherine felt Sandy's gaze on her, or rather, the little man was staring at the dagger in her hand. "I see Nightlight in my dreams, Sandy, he is alive in them. He visits me whenever I need him... I've known him for my whole life." the young woman explained to him, she knew very well that he would understand her.

Sandy's lips curled up, it was a mixture of contentment and sadness. Gently, Katherine felt her body raised aloft, Sandy was carrying her in the air thanks to a magical cloud that he had created. He didn't need to tell her his plan, she knew what to do.

Sandy threw the cloud towards the Nightmare Man swiftly and with his all strength. Katherine fixed her feet on the cloud and raised her arm, then she aimed at the fiend.

She did not, however, calculate the mysterious creature's brutal, vicious and sudden attack. Before she could comprehend, she was tossed by a fierce power, thankfully she landed safely on Sandy's arms.

They were putting their best against him, but the Nightmare Man was blocking nearly every single attack, there was no sign that he received a fatal wound. Furthermore, he didn't have one single injury, he wasn't even bleeding.

They were going to lose... Katherine glanced at the dagger that was laying on her lap with a blank expression on her face. She whirled her gaze back to the battle, she detected the only person who was available, at least more than the others.

_"When the right time comes, you will have a chance to end the war with this blade. Use it wisely."_

"Jack!" she shrieked precipitately and without giving him a moment to respond, she hurled the dagger at him.

Jack instantly extended his arm and grabbed the diamond blade by its handle. Without hesitation, he threw the blade, he didn't even wait for a moment to let himself aim properly.

Jackson Overland, the Prince of Northern Island, he was the one who inflicted the fatal wound.

When the dagger pierced the Nightmare Man's skin and struck him from his heart, Katherine did not have the time to observe or discern the situation.

She has already passed out.

* * *

Her gray eyes snapped open, she gasped to fill her lungs with air. Everything was white. Whiteness ruled this world, it was the only thing that she could see.

Instead of observing the nothingness and waiting for him, the young woman got up and moved hastily, she was running around like a lunatic. She didn't know where to go, but her instincts instructed her not to stop.

"My Katherine."

Eventually, her feet slowed down, she decelerated completely when she faced the young man, whose fluffy hair was as white as a freshly fallen snow. His pale green eyes were staring at her gray eyes softly, lovingly. He had a wonderful smile on his young face, she truly cherished that genuine smile.

"Nightlight." she breathed out with so much emotion, immediately after, she fell into his arms. Ultimately, she beamed in happiness as he snuggled closer to her, his arms were holding her, giving her the warm sensation that made her feel safe.

"I am so proud of you." he murmured after he kissed her fully on lips. She squeezed his slender hand to express that she had heard him.

"Now what, Nightlight? We finally beat them, we won... And yet, I feel like this is only the beginning." she mumbled, her head was buried on his neck.

"Every end has a new beginning." he informed her with his shy, yet friendly voice. "That's why, you have to remember. The story is not over."

Those straightforward words, which were carefully chosen, caused her to freeze. She was paralyzed, her legs weakened, thankfully, he was clasping her gently in his arms. Her eyes were wide open as the memories flooded into her mind, her jaw also loosened because she had an urge to scream... nonetheless, nothing came out of her mouth.

"Guardian!" she shouted while she was blinking rapidly, her entire body was shuddering violently. "I am a guardian! I am the Guardian of... Storytelling." she proclaimed, her jaw was still loose, she clearly still wasn't over her shock.

Her breath hitched, her tremor was getting more and more noticeable. "Nightlight! You took an oath to protect Tsar Lunar..."

"As known as the Man in the Moon." he continued calmly for her when her voice trailed off.

"Pitch killed you." she blurted out, she shut her eyes down as she let her agony take her, she could feel the wetness on her cheeks. "I don't want to go back."

"We have talked about this." he replied with a collected manner, his lips were tingling her hair as he spoke. "I am always next to you. Do you stop believing the moon when the sun comes up?"

"No," she stopped and took a moment because she was bawling her eyes out. With the help of him, caressing her skin softly, her sobs cooled off a little. "But it is extremely hard. I never get to be with the moon, it is always so far away from me. Every time you leave... Everything gets more and more unbearable."

"My Katherine." he whispered, he held up her chin, his thumb was softly stroking it. Before she could analyze his green eyes, he pressed their lips against each other, they both knew this would the last kiss that they'd share in a very, very long time. "Sweet dreams."

She pulled away, her crook, weak smile remained on her face whereas she was fading away in front of her lover. "Goodnight, Nightlight."

_Nightlight, bright light,_

_Sweet dreams I bestow._

_Sleep tight, all night._

_Forever I will glow._

* * *

She got up from the pile of soft golden sand as soon as she gained her consciousness, she did not spend a single second to get the picture, she has already known what was going on.

Seeing her friends huddled in a circle, the memory of a few days earlier in the war, Jack's condition came across to her mind and because of this, she felt a heavy sense of déjà vu. Her hand moved to her head as she moaned in pain, nevertheless, she did not halt walking.

None of her friends offered her an explanation, everyone's attention was still on the old man, who was heavily injured.

Nonetheless, she knew, Pitch made the most of an opportunity by benefiting from their absence. He stabbed North from his stomach with his black poniard, ironically the very same poniard that he defended Elsa from the Nightmare Man. Then, he ran as fast as he could and jumped into the _portal_ without thinking twice.

Katherine did not need an explanation because she already knew. After all, she was the Guardian of Storytelling.

"North won't die." she declared with a steady, apathetic tone, she was sure of herself. Regardless, her eyes were averting the old man because if they didn't, she knew she wouldn't sound confident. She had to be strong and cold-blooded right now.

"What do you mean?" Jack spat out angrily whereas he was glaring at her, the iciness of his blue eyes caused the her to flinch.

"I know the wound seems bad." she retorted without staring at North, "But North _can't_ die... He is not capable of dying, even if he wants to."

"He is not breathing, Katherine!" Tooth cried out with a shaky voice.

"How is Sandy alive then? You were all certain that he was dead. Tooth, you broke an ankle, Bunny broke his arm, Jack, your shoulder needs to be stitched, it is ripped apart. And yet, here you are, still fighting as if you are completely uninjured." she reasoned and ignored Tooth's comment, in fact, she didn't wait for them to respond as she gestured the shinning white circular portal.

She knew, she should have fixated her gaze on the particular person whereas she was speaking. She tried, but in the end, she couldn't. She couldn't look Elsa in the eye while she was stating the truth. "The portal won't last for long. We need to go. Now."

Then, she pointed at Jack, Sandy, Tooth, Bunny, Jamie and Emma with her index finger one by one, but not North, she still couldn't bear to see his body, which was laying in a pool of blood. "You seven... You need to remember."

There was no need for her to repeat those words, seven of them touched their forehead as all memories came flooding back, they groaned in pain and shuddered just like she did earlier.

When the devastating pain that had been lodged in their brains finally passed over within a few seconds, a brief but extremely uncomfortable silence ensued. Seven of them, including Katherine, they had to go... But there were three people they had to leave behind, Honeymaren, Emma and... Elsa.

"Jackson!" Elsa cried out, her voice was filled with apprehension. She clutched her lover from his arm whereas she was trying to read his solid, emotionless expression. "What's going on?"

Jack did not reply, his blue eyes were completely hollow.

"W-We must go through the portal." Tooth managed to stutter out, she seemed like she did her best not to break into tears.

Bunny, who seemed to be the least shaken among them, he proceeded talking without letting Elsa ask further questions. "Elsa," he mumbled calmly, his green eyes were closed. "I won't beat around the bush. This white portal opens to our time, 2019. It's gonna close very soon, so me, Toothie, North, Sandy, Katherine, Jamie and... Jack... We have to leave as soon as possible."

Elsa shook her head violently, her grip on Jack tightened, the young 'prince' still wasn't replying, he stood frozen. "I don't understand!"

"Crikey!" Bunny cussed under his breath and slammed his foot on the ground furiously. "Look sheila, we ain't got much time. Just say goodbye to your Jack, will you?" he sounded as if he was chiding her, however, they all knew Aster better than that. He was hiding behind the tough guy act.

The more he talked, the more his accent became more and more conspicuous. But right now, it was the last detail that struck Elsa's eye, she didn't comment on the accent that she obviously never heard before.

The young woman knitted her eyebrows in bewilderment when Jack broke the contact and went towards Honeymaren, he gave her a big, brotherly hug. He then, slowly approached Emma.

Elsa did not know what they had spoken because she was too busy embracing Tooth, Aster, Sandy and Jamie. She did however, hear Emma's loud and miserable sobs that gave shivers down her spine.

"I am sorry." Katherine blurted out, instinctively, Elsa clasped her friend tighter than before.

"Don't be." she retorted as she strived not to mull over, it would end up hurting her more.

"Thank you so much, Elsa."

"For what?"

Katherine shifted and broke the hug, she beamed in a beautiful, sincere way, tears were streaming down her face. "For simply being yourself."

"Elsa."

She raised her head, the frown on her face deepened as she looked at the young man, her lover. She felt... Numb. She didn't feel anything. Unless like the others, she didn't wail, not a single teardrop formed in her eye. She was in shock, she knew that. Nonetheless, even though she has already established that fact, her body was still refusing to move.

She felt the man she was in love with, wrapping his arms around her body, he was clinging to her as if his life depended on it. His hands were stroking all over her body while his lips were wandering on her hair. Even though she couldn't see his face, she knew Jack was crying quietly in anguish.

"Elsa... My name is Jackson Overland Frost... I just want you to know who I really am before I leave."

"Jack... Frost? Like the myth?" she inquired with a low, hushed tone, she wasn't aware of the wetness on her cheeks.

But Jack was, he brushed her tears away, then planted a kiss on her nose. "Yes, Jack Frost. Will you promise me, Elsa? Will you vow that you will always believe in me?"

She nudged her head to look at him in the eye, his blue eyes were covered with tears, they were so tender, so fascinating, so vulnerable... "I believe in you, Jack Frost."

"I love you. I love you so much, Elsa of Arendelle." he confessed, then their lips found each other, they shared a long passionate, desperate kiss that felt too short for Elsa.

Leave... He was going to leave her. Jack left her before, he left her when he was in a coma for four days, he left her at the siege of Pitch's castle. But he never abandoned her, they had to be separate because of the circumstances. In the end, he always came back to her.

Still, every time he left, it hurt, it hurt so much that she did not how to deal with such great sorrow.

"I love you too, Jackson Overland Frost."

Every time he left, she died a little from inside...

"Goodbye."

The war of the North... It was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter. It was a bit too Katherine centric but either way, I think this was a good one. Please leave (haha, get it) a review, love you all!


	19. The Snow Queen

**Austrian: Thank you, once again, we are slowly reaching the end... Hoffentlich gefällt dir das Kapital.**

**Guest: Thanks for the lovely review!**

**Sorry for the late update everyone, I was honestly being plain lazy... Hope you'll enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 19: The Snow Queen

The small, cute leaf which had slightly wrinkled skin, was completely red. The time for this leaf to leave home had long passed, it had to join its siblings... The wind blew towards the leaf with a sweet breeze, the feeble leaf broke from the branch it held on to, it was unable to resist the strong and powerful wind, so it began to fly through the air.

Oh, what it didn't see during the short period of floating in the air! The couples walking on the streets hand in hand, the naughty children making mischief, the old people beaming at the younger generations... There was a festive atmosphere in the town.

Now that the wind ceased, the little leaf was falling dramatically towards the ground. It had a short but breathtaking journey, now ready to join its siblings. Contrary to its expectation, things didn't go as planned. The leaf turned to ice as soon as it touched the ground...

Winter finally arrived at Burgess.

"Jack!" Jamie Bennett, the eighteen years old young man shrieked enthusiastically as soon as he realized the glaze of frost on his window.

He quickly unlocked the window, the cold breeze entered his room, caused him to flinch. However, Jamie Bennett was too joyful to care for the cold, his best friend finally paid him a visit.

"Hey Jamie!" the Spirit of Winter, Jack Frost greeted his best friend as he entered the room with a goofy grin on his face.

Jamie crossed his arms and pouted, tried to seem mad and annoyed. Jack hasn't shown up for a year, which was very rude if you asked Jamie. That's why, he held his tongue and tilted his head to indicate that he was expecting an explanation from his best friend.

Jack's goofy grin turned to a sheepish one, he rubbed his nape as he laid his staff against the wall. As he whirled around to face Jamie, the spirit simply put his hands on his hoodie's pocket and pursed his lips, attempted to seem innocent.

Jamie wasn't buying it, Jack Frost was a lot of things but the word 'innocent' never described him... The guy retained the first place in the naughty list, god knows how long!

"Where have you been, Jack? It has been a year!" Jamie blurted out, he made a facepalm for not being able to hold his mouth.

"First of all," Jack said with a confident manner as he raised his index finger, "As the Spirit of Winter and the Guardian of Fun, I have many responsibilities and duties-"

"Your fancy work schedule is nothing compared to the stressful life of a senior."

"Secondly," Jack proceeded without paying attention to his friend, "I... Well, that's pretty much everything."

Jamie rolled his eyes in irritation but he did not say anything, he knew ignoring him would be the best option... He had a lot of homework to do anyway. He casually sat down on his chair and began doing his math homework, he tried not to focus on the noises that Jack was causing.

After a while, when he heard the light snores of his friend, he smiled to himself and stood up. Jack was sleeping peacefully on the floor, he was using his left arm as a pillow. Jamie carefully placed his soft pillow under Jack's head, then put a blanket on him. The Spirit of Winter was of course immune to cold, but Jamie couldn't bear to do otherwise.

He then, headed towards the window to shut it down because the sky became darker and the room got colder... Jamie knitted his eyebrows when he saw the northern lights, dancing in the sky joyfully.

"Jack!" he yelled when he returned to his side. He nudged his friend hard, the excitement he has been feeling came out, his throat became dry whereas his fingers were trembling.

"Ow, what's going on Jamie!?" Jack asked, he sounded curious and also irked. He has already been getting up, he didn't seem that much sleepy.

Almost instantly, Jack directed his gaze at the window and realized the lights before Jamie could explain, his eyes were shot open now. He swiftly grabbed his staff and opened the window. He was about to leave the room, but he halted all of a sudden and rested his eyes on his friend.

The young man, Jamie sighed tiredly and shook his head. However, then his distressed features softened, a kind beam spread over his face. "Being an adult doesn't mean that I will stop believing in you. That's why you didn't visit, right? You were afraid that I wouldn't see you once I turned eighteen."

Jack raised an eyebrow, he fiddled with his hoodie nervously. Eventually, he nodded briefly in agreement, then offered a sincere smile to his best friend. "Thank you for still believing in me, Jamie."

* * *

"You are late." she remarked with a poker face, her voice sounded strict. Still, from the corner of his eye, he could see that she was trying not to smirk.

"Hello to you too, Mother Goose." he greeted the auburn-haired young woman, who was standing right next to him.

"Jack!" he heard Tooth's enthusiastic yell, the hummingbird-like woman has already been clasping him so tightly.

Before Jack could return the embrace, as always, he felt her hands unlocking his jaw, the Tooth Fairy began to analyze his teeth with a sparkle in her pink eyes.

"Mmph!" he only managed to say, it was impossible to speak whenever Tooth observed his teeth.

"Tooth! Hands off!" North ordered while he was massaging knuckles, he seemed a little bit distressed.

Even though it was unusual of him, Jack couldn't blame the old man, Tooth was babbling non-stop, the tiny elves were getting in his way. On top of it, North attempted to calm everyone down while he was arguing with Bunny. For centuries, they were always at odds over the same issue that arose whenever they met. Bunny was defending Easter, North was insisting that Christmas was better. At least, Sandy and Katherine remained calm.

Jack took pity on Father Christmas, for once, he decided not to be the troublemaker. When Tooth finally removed her arms, he slammed the edge of his staff on the floor. Everyone eventually quietened when they felt the coldness underneath them.

"What's going on?" Jack asked in a serious manner.

An arrow appeared on Sandy's head, it was signaling something. Jack turned around to discover what it was, his eyes grew bigger as soon as he saw the transparent stone that was resting on a marble.

The moon's lights illuminated the globe room, they were targeted at the transparent stone, which led a magical light to appear. As a result, a mysterious figure showed up and Jack's breath hitched at the sudden realization. A guardian... The Man in the Moon, Manny was choosing a new guardian. It has been only seven years since they had defeated Pitch, since he had become a guardian... What made Manny choose a new one this early?

The figure was surely a woman and she looked young, however, Jack couldn't pick any more details about the figure. Who was this woman? He had no idea, he took a glance at his friends to search for the answer, everyone seemed as baffled as him, except for...

"The Snow Queen." Katherine declared with an emotionless tone, her facial figures were also impassive.

Regardless, a couple of seconds later, she stumbled, she was breathing heavily. Without giving them a chance to ask her condition, Katherine turned around and ran out of the globe room. Instinctively, Jack followed her without a second thought.

* * *

"Here you are!" Jack exclaimed loudly whereas he was panting.

They were in the library of North's workshop, Katherine absolutely adored spending time there, it was obviously her favorite place in the workshop.

Katherine paid no mind to Jack, she was too busy with looking over a book. Jack bent his head to see the cover of the book... "Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen".

The Winter Spirit raised an eyebrow to reflect his curiosity. He met Katherine a year after he became a guardian. He was shocked when he found out that there was another guardian. No one had told him the existence of Katherine until one day the young woman appeared out of nowhere.

His lips curled up as he recalled the memories. When they met, they immediately hit it off. The other guardians thought that a romance would blossom between them, however, neither of them were interested in each other romantically. Katherine easily became Jack's best friend, besides Jamie of course.

Still, even though they were close, he sometimes couldn't figure out what she was up to, just like right now.

"Have you ever heard of the Snow Queen, Jack?"

"The fairy tale character? Yes. She was created by a Danish guy, right?" he replied whereas he was leaning onto his staff.

She chuckled in amusement, then she shook her head. "Oh Jack, Hans Christian Andersen is not just a normal guy. He is one of the best fairy tale authors of all time."

"If I did not know you, I would have said you were fangirling." he teased her with a soft, toothy grin on his face.

Katherine's cheeks reddened at those words, she averted her gaze away from him. "I am not fangirling. I am simply impressed with his works, as a storyteller to another. I remember his childhood vividly, I always knew he was special. All I had to do was a little bit of a push... Anyway, let's not wander away from our topic."

"We were talking about the Snow Queen."

The woman nodded, the blush on her face vanished, she seemed more serious now. She closed the book and placed it in the bookshelf, then proceeded to explain... "She is not a fairy tale, Jack. She exists, just like you, me and the rest of the other guardians. She has a different story than Andersen had created, the reality has nothing to do with cursed children and mirror pieces."

"So she is not evil-ish?"

"No." Katherine shook her head and laughed wholeheartedly but it also sounded... sad. "She is one of the best people I've ever meet." she whispered, her lips were curled up bitterly.

"Wait," Jack knitted his eyebrows in bewilderment, he blinked to digest what she has just said. "You know her and you never told me? Does she have the same powers as me?"

Katherine shut her eyes, she winced in anguish. "It is not that simple, Jack. I remember her now and I just have the memory of what she looks like, that's all... You are the only one who can find her."

"M-Me? Why? You know every story, you are the Guardian of Storytelling. You should know where she lives." he claimed in disbelief, he felt even more puzzled now.

"I can't, Jack. I can't remember." she muttered under her breath in frustration while she was fuming. "... I can't remember because this is the way it's supposed to be. I am not supposed to save her, you are. Only you can find her, I can feel it. She needs you, Jack. And, believe it or not, you need her too."

"Why? Why am I the only who can save her? Why would I ever 'need' a girl who I haven't even met yet?"

"I..." Katherine's voice trailed off, she wrapped her arms around herself as she searched for the right words. "I don't know."

* * *

They started their journey with Norway. Hans Christian Andersen was from Denmark, but since the Snow Queen castle settled in a mountainous place and since Denmark was flat, Jack insisted on checking out Norway first.

It was absurd, he has been in this geography for multiple times, thousands even. He would surely know if a woman who could manipulate ice and snow lived here. Nevertheless, his guts were telling him not to give up, he had to find her.

Hours turned to days, days turned to weeks... Jack flew all around Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, North and Katherine escorted him with the sled, even Bunny, who utterly despised the cold, opened many tunnels to find her. Despite their efforts, the Snow Queen was nowhere to be seen.

Jack slumped on the ground, his face was buried in his hands. He wanted to scream, to punch, to do something to let his frustration out, but nothing came out. He felt defeated, he felt like a failure.

"Son," he felt North's huge hand on his shoulder, clutching him in a supporting way. "You did the best you could."

Jack shook his head, he did not say anything. He didn't want to talk or do anything at all, he just wanted to find her...

"Hey are you okay?"

He grunted in response, however, when he heard Katherine's high-pitched scream, he flinched. As soon as he removed his hands, his eyes grew wider in disbelief. He was facing a circular rock, who had a big nose, eyes, hair that consisted of grass, who was wearing a dress that made with grass.

"W-What?!" he stuttered out in shock as he leaped backwards, he was pointing at the very much alive rock with his index finger.

"Never seen a troll before?" the troll asked tauntingly, she, at least she sounded like a woman, was smirking at him.

Jack stood up quickly, then he glanced at North and Katherine, they too, seemed bewildered.

Soon, the ground began to shake. The young-looking man took a few steps away when he saw many other round rocks, rolling toward them. Almost simultaneously, the rocks unrolled, they were staring at the three guardians.

"So the trolls are also real." Katherine muttered under her breath, she seemed calmer now, more like herself.

"And we are not evil, not like in the fairy tale that Mr. Andersen had written." a troll continued for her. He seemed the oldest one, his hair was longer than the others, even though he was a rock, thanks to his collected, elegant composure, it was crystal clear that he was someone wise.

"I am Pabbie. It is good to see you again, North and Jack." the troll introduced himself.

"Again? What do you mean?" North asked with his heavy Russian accent.

The troll let out a tiny, mysterious smile. "It is a long story and I am sure the Guardian of Storytelling will explain better than me, once she remembers. Right now, my duty is to help you to find the Snow Queen."

Jack crouched down, he darted his gaze on the old troll seriously. "Do you know her?"

"I do." Pabbie replied with his raspy voice, he then, took Jack's hand and looked at him in the eye. "Only you can find her... But first, you have to believe in her."

"What do you mean?"

"Believe in her, Jack Frost. Don't deny that she exists, trust yourself." Pabbie advised him, his smile was more sincere now.

Jack sighed, but he nodded to indicate that he understood him.

"Let's call the other guardians and tell them what we have just discovered." North murmured under his breath and Katherine agreed with him.

Believe... He had to believe. This was not absurd, it was not ridiculous to believe there was someone out there, who was a little bit like him...

"D-Did you hear that?!" Jack cried out as he jumped in surprise, Pabbie, who was still beaming, simply shook his head and North shrugged in response.

"What are you talking about, Jack?" Katherine inquired, there was a frown on her face.

"The voice..." he mumbled under his breath, he did not bother to explain.

When he heard the mysterious voice once again, he was sure that it was calling him. Jack began to fly, he had to follow the voice, he didn't want it to leave him alone...

"Jack! Where are you going?"

"Into the unknown!"

* * *

"Mate! You are out of your mind!"

"We are close, I can feel it!" he shrieked enthusiastically, his joyous laughter filled the air as he accelerated his speed.

"Jack, stop! We can not see anything because of the fog!" Tooth cried out from his behind but once again, for the hundredth time on that day, he did not care.

Apart from the heavy fog, the harsh breeze was trying to shove them aside, for the first time, the wind wasn't on his side. Nonetheless, Jack did not stop, he was planning on giving up.

"Jack!" he heard Tooth's yell once again from the distance.

He was not in control, the wind gained strength, they were repeatedly tossed around by a massive storm now. Before he shut his eyes down and lost his consciousness, he discerned that he was trapped in a whirlwind.

The last thing he remembered, was an anxious but beautiful sound that he had never heard before...

"Gale! Stop!"

* * *

"Are you alright?"

He was breathing heavily as his eyelids fluttered. He managed to nod although he was slightly in pain. He was appeased when he felt the soft, delicate hand on his skin, it was caressing his face gently...

When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the most mesmerizing blue eyes he has ever seen, her red, rosy lips were formed in a genuine, glamorous smile.

He gladly accepted the hand that she had offered to him, he stood up silently and let himself observe the young woman in front of him.

She had a very pale skin, a slender feminine shape. Her exquisite, really long platinum blonde hair was waving freely due to the wind... She was wearing a lovely white gown. She was... She was simply breathtaking, gorgeous. Jack has never seen someone like her before.

"E-Elsa!" Katherine gasped, Jack had to take a step away and gave them space when his friend jumped into the platinum blonde, Elsa...

Katherine was sobbing loudly, she was hugging her so tightly that Jack was sure the young woman had difficulty with breathing.

"Katherine... You remember me." he heard her melodious voice speaking gently, tears were also streaming down her face.

"I do!" she proclaimed gaily, she wiped her tears away when they finally broke their embrace.

"I believe, we must introduce ourselves." Katherine stated, she swiftly returned to her composed attitude as she fixated her posture. "I am Katherine Shalazar, the Guardian of Storytelling. I am also as known as Mother Goose."

Jack knitted his eyebrows in confusion when Katherine mentioned being a guardian... Did Elsa know about the guardians? She didn't seem baffled, therefore Jack supposed, she did.

Tooth, being the cheerful one, she was the second one who introduced herself. Before she did it though, she squealed like a lunatic whereas she was examining Elsa's teeth without caring about personal space.

"Your teeth are as white as a freshly fallen snow!"

"Tooth!" Bunny warned her, she immediately let out an apologetic smile and finally gave Elsa some space.

"Hi, it is so nice to meet you! I am Toothiana, the Tooth Fairy, the Guardian of Memories. Please call me Tooth!"

"Sorry, sheila." Bunny intervened before the half-hummingbird could ramble. "She is just really excited to meet a new person."

"It is okay." Elsa replied, then she let out an amused giggle.

Aster offered her a handshake, she gladly accepted it. "I am E. Aster Bunnymund, the Easter Bunny. I am the Guardian of Hope. You may call me Bunny or Aster." he said politely, then he gestured at Sandy. "He can't talk. He is Sanderson Mansnoozie, aka Sandy. He is the Guardian of Dreams."

"Ho-ho-ho!" North laughed as he pushed Bunny aside and ignored his grunts, then he shook Elsa's hand with great enthusiasm. "Privet! I am Nicholas St. North, aka Santa Claus and the Guardian of Miracles. It is so nice to finally meet you!"

Jack was the last one. When the young woman rested her gaze on him, he inhaled deeply. He came closer to her, he honestly felt a little bit nervous.

He deliberately raised his right hand whereas he was staring at her eyes without bothering to feel ashamed. She too, lifted her hand, soon, they felt each other. Neither of them seemed to be embarrassed by the fact they had intertwined their fingers.

Her creamy skin felt so soft and fragile. He shivered sweetly because she also felt... cold. Jack Frost did know how heat felt like, he could not tolerate it at all. Whenever he touched someone, they felt either hot or warm, but never cold.

"You feel cold... I've never sensed the cold before." he announced his thoughts aloud with a husky whisper.

"I've sensed it before. Though, some of them were unpleasant. But you feel..." her beautiful voice that sounded like a melody to his ear trailed off, she was blushing all of a sudden.

"Pleasant."

When they parted away, they both didn't resist the urge of creating a snowflake... His snowflake was bigger but simpler, hers was tinier but more detailed.

"My name is Jack Frost, I am the Spirit of Winter and the Guardian of Fun."

"Nice to meet you, Jack Frost. I am Elsa Arendelle, the Fifth Spirit, the Guardian of the Enchanted Forest... Though, I must admit, most people know me as the Snow Queen."

**Please leave a review, love ya all!**


	20. The Past of The Future

"Hi, my name is Olaf and I love warm hugs!" the goofy snowman introduced himself with his usual jovial self, caused everyone, of course except Katherine, to flinch in surprise.

"A-A talking snowman!" Bunny cried out in disbelief whereas North was chuckling loudly at the horrified expression on his face.

Jack, although his gorgeous blue eyes were mixed with puzzlement and amazement, he kept his cool posture while he was glaring at Olaf. He seemed so content at that moment, probably because of the fact he has just discovered that there was someone like him.

At least, he thought that way. What he didn't know was that he had met this talkative, very much alive snowman and the woman who shared the same powers as him a very, very long time ago.

It was too much.

She staggered with a violent tremor and withdrew her gaze from him immediately, then she whirled around and uttered a few words whereas she was trying not to mind the terrible nausea that was turning her stomach upside down. "Excuse me."

She did not give them the opportunity to stop her, she rapidly walked away. She was a bit relieved when she heard Katherine speaking, she knew no one was going to follow her. Olaf could talk hours about literally everything and Katherine would be there to assist him.

When she leaned her back against a thick-bodied tree and collapsed on the ground in resentment, she could breathe more or less. However, instead of calming down, she knew her condition was getting progressively worse.

Elsa brought her hand to her mouth, she was striving to stop the loud hiccup coming out of her mouth. Her whole body was trembling, she pulled her knees towards herself and she held them tight. Her hiccups got violent and she knew, soon, she'd burst into tears... However, she managed to prevent herself from weeping.

They looked different from the last time she has seen them.

Sandy had been through the biggest change. Surely, his hair has always been golden yellow, as well as his powers. Elsa always thought this color defined him, but now, his entire body was golden and consisted of magic sand... This physical appearance made Sandy even more magical than he was before. It was also an interesting detail that Sandy was not capable of speaking. The man that Elsa knew has never been a chatty person, nonetheless he would say a word or two every once in a while. Now, he could only communicate through the signs that appeared on his head.

Even though not as much as Sandy, North too seemed different. His outfit consisted largely of red now, the fancy, royal clothes had been replaced with more casual ones. Also, she couldn't help but associate his coat and black furry hat with a traditional Russian outfit. On top of that, North was now speaking with a heavy Russian accent and although Elsa was a little surprised when she first heard it, she immediately got used to it.

North wasn't the only one whose accent had changed, Bunny's accent had changed too. Even though Elsa had heard the way he spoke before, she realised it was an Australian accent only years later.

Katherine, Tooth and... Jack... These three have hardly changed. Nevertheless, there were a few differences that were a good thing.

They were all smiling, their eyes filled with tranquillity, warmth and all other positive emotions... They were content. They were much, much happier than the last time she had seen them. Especially by the end of the war, they had all a mental break down, they seemed like they aged due to stress, fear and pain. Now there was a shadow of their former self.

Now, they were... more like themselves.

Even better, they were still the same individuals who were her friends. North was still fatherly and joyful, Bunny seemed tough and harsh but deep down, he was caring. Sandy was quiet, understanding and wise, Tooth was energetic, friendly and bubbly, Katherine was calm, compassionate and clever as always.

And Jack...

Elsa shuddered in agony, she was feeling a tightness in her chest. She clutched her knees stronger, dug her nails into her palms harshly and gritted her teeth to hold her sob.

Jack didn't remember her.

She had predicted this, of course she was anticipating this, it was as plain as the nose on her face. If Jack or the others... If the guardians had remembered her, they'd have found each other much longer ago. Jack aside, even Katherine, the most omniscient person she has ever known, couldn't remember her until she saw her.

Even though she had prepared herself to this for a long time, she had failed. In the end, she was crouching on the ground, writhing in pain because this was simply inevitable, not even acceptance and patience could help her out.

Her friends that she genuinely cared about, the man she fell in love with didn't remember her, they didn't even know of her existence until now.

"Hey... Are you okay?"

Elsa leaped up, thankfully she didn't let out a cry in shock, it would be embarrassing. Still, she felt jolted and he probably discerned that. "Ah, yes, I am totally fine..." her voice trailed off whereas she was thinking of a good excuse and trying not to panic.

She cleared her throat and fixated her posture, then stared at Jack cooly. "It is just... It's been a while since someone saw me. It feels weird to be able to make eye contact with a human... They can't see me." she reasoned with a strict manner. Technically, she wasn't lying.

"Well, I am not a human but yeah, I get what you mean... It must have been hard for you." he muttered under his breath, his fascinating eyes that she missed so much were full of empathy.

"It's alright." she prevaricated to avoid this topic, she didn't have the energy to work herself up.

"Umm... May I call you Elsa?"

She forced a smile and just nodded to approve, she didn't trust her voice because there was a lump in her throat.

"Elsa, look, we... _I_ would really appreciate it if you'd come with us to North Pole, to North's workshop. We need to discuss an important topic with you." Jack requested politely, he surprisingly sounded nervous.

"Sure." Elsa retorted curtly, caused the young-looking spirit startle in awe... Speaking of his appearance, how old was he? She brushed that question off hastily, it was not the right time to mull over.

"I thought you would decline." he admitted honestly with a low chuckle that escaped from his lips as they were walking towards the guardians.

Elsa eyed at the red enormous sleigh... It was, well, she didn't know what she had expected but certainly not this. There was a globe on the front point of the sleigh and two wings attached to the body. "It wouldn't hurt to travel by Santa Claus' sleigh.

North grinned from ear to ear when he heard that statement, "Everyone loves the sleigh."

* * *

"Tangerine cake?" North proposed in his typical joyful manner, he was holding a huge cake.

"No, thank you." she shook her head and declined his offer gently.

Her eyes widened when North basically threw the cake without taking a second glance at it. Fortunately, an elf caught it, which resulted in him, plunging on the floor. She never knew that elves and yetis actually existed, moreover, she always imagined the elves tall, gorgeous human-like creatures. Apparently, the descriptions that were written in books were just a myth.

North narrowed his eyes and caught the glimpse of Katherine, she was the only person who was standing in his office, besides Elsa and him. "Now, dear Elsa, I and Katherine would like to talk to you about being a guardian."

"May I have a word with Katherine... alone?" Elsa blurted out rudely and interrupted the old man. She could feel her cheeks burning, she swallowed and let out an apologetic smile. "I am sorry, I just really want to catch up with my dearest friend."

Katherine and North exchanged a glance. As she slightly tilted her head, Father Christmas simply offered Elsa a warm grin, then left the room silently. They were clearly close friends, just like how she knew them in the first place.

"Els-"

She threw herself to her friend's body, a sensation of satisfaction was filling her heart. She refused to let go of Katherine and grasped her tighter, she was overjoyed to finally be reunited with the only person that recognized her.

"I missed you, I missed all of you so much." Elsa confessed shamelessly, her voice was filled with so many different types of emotions.

"I missed you too. They will too, once they recall their memories and comprehend who you are." Katherine spoke with an appeasing tone, she was rubbing her back soothingly.

The platinum blonde retreated with a hint of a smile on her lips, it faded away quickly after she exhaled deeply. "Katherine." she called out her name with a gentle but strict tone. "I need an explanation of everything that had happened nearly 172 years ago."

"You may want to sit down."

"I rather stand."

Katherine only shrugged, she didn't insist. "First of all, I should explain what a guardian is. I am sure you remember the Man in the Moon, aka Manny... He is the one who gives us immortality in the first place, we were all someone else before we became immortals, we had a past. Manny is also the one who chooses the guardians. We take an oath to protect the children all around the world, our duty is to keep them safe no matter what. Each of us, me, Jack and others... We all represent a center that helps the children, North is wonder, Jack is fun, Bunny is hope for instance." she started to clarify her questions immediately. Elsa stayed silent, waited for her to continue.

Katherine's gray eyes filled with clouds, her expression darkened... She was recollecting the memories that she certainly didn't want to recall. "It all began this year, in 2019. Jack defeated Pitch in 2012, that's why it shocked all of us that Pitch was back only seven years later..." her voice trailed off, she wrapped her arms around herself to cease her shiver.

"What happened, Katherine?"

"A war. It was brutal, Elsa. We've been battling against Pitch for centuries but this war... It was something I've never seen before, even the War of the North is a child's play compared to this war. When Pitch arose, he wasn't alone. He had an ally... The Dark Lord."

Elsa's jaw dropped the ground, her eyes were popping out of her head. "The Dark Lord? The very same mysterious guy who the Northern Island fought against?"

"Yes... But not limited to this... The Dark Lord, he is the Nightmare Man."

She felt her legs getting weaker, her hands were shaking uncontrollably, but she couldn't bring herself to care. "What do you mean?" she inquired, feeling beyond baffled.

"Let me explain step by step... During the war in this year, the Dark Lord was the reason why Pitch was so near to defeat us. Together, the two murdered thousands of people... Pitch is evil, but he was never this fierce and ferocious before. I believe, the Dark Lord somehow manipulated Pitch, maybe even summoned him."

"This is like how the Nightmare Man always made everything worse whenever Pitch held himself back... He was inside of Pitch's head and slowly eating him." Elsa claimed and cut her off excitedly. Soon after, she furrowed her eyebrows in utter confusion. "So why isn't there a disastrous war now? Did the guardians somehow manage to win?"

"The war never occurred, Elsa."

"Pardon me?"

"This is where everything gets tangled... Manny sent us to the past because we would surely be defeated in 2019. We had to win for the sake of children who we vowed to protect. However, we couldn't have fulfilled our obligations without you."

"Excuse-"

This time, Katherine was the one, who didn't let her finish. "Manny teleported us and the others to 1847, to your time because he chose you as the seventh guardian, Elsa. Basically, we traveled in time just to find you, so that you could help us to gain a victory against Pitch and the Dark Lord."

"I don't understand."

"If we won in the past, it would affect the future and give us a chance to win. Two timelines collided together, we were never destined to meet if it weren't for the war. The two timelines collided together and they become one to defeat the Dark Lord and Pitch... We deleted a reality and created another one to replace it. We rewrote the past so that we could change the future." the Guardian of Storytelling told her dramatically, her voice got deeper.

She proceeded after exhaling and inhaling to catch her breath. "And there are the parallels between the past and the future... The Man in the Moon choosing us and giving us powers, Pitch corrupting Sandy's sand and supposedly killing him, the Nightmare Man controlling Pitch and many other more. We all had the trails of who we are... Pitch being good at first, then him losing his mind when his daughter got murdered... These parallels makes the two timelines compatible."

"Then why were you nobles ruling an entire kingdom instead of being the guardians you are in reality?"

"If there are parallels, of course, there are differences. We didn't remember who we were, Elsa. Time-traveling has a price... A few recent memories were erased from our minds, that's why the rest of the guardians can't recall who you are. I wouldn't either, if I wasn't the storyteller... Anyway, due to the lack of memories, we did not know we were immortal, we were under an illusion... We had false recollections, Jack, Bunny and North were never related by blood, we did not come from royalty, our childhoods were all lies. It was all an illusion so that we would adapt to the past better. In reality, we had been stuck in the year 1847 only for a couple of months." she tried to clarify her question.

"What about Pitch and Sandy, being brothers? And Emma... She vanished in front of our eyes immediately after you left. Was she also a part of the... illusion?" Elsa popped out another question.

This question had obviously a bad effect on Katherine. The auburn-haired woman flinched, Elsa could see she was disturbed due to her timid, slightly vulnerable expression. "Pitch and Sandy are not brothers. However, those two have a history... About Emma... This was Manny's gift to us. When he created the illusion, he put in the people we loved most. For Jack, it was Emma, for North, it was Mrs. Claus, who is supposedly Jack, Emma and Aster's mother in that illusion..."

"For you, it was Nightlight." the Fifth Spirit declared, her facial outlines, her voice were completely apathetic, she did not reflect any kind of emotion.

Katherine winced in agony, she averted her gaze away from her as she shut her eyes down. "Yes." she replied curtly and grimly. "Could we please move on from this topic?"

Elsa hesitated for a brief moment, after letting her lips curl up bitterly, she stretched out her arm and gave a light squeeze on her friend's shoulder. "I am here if you want to talk."

"I know."

She decided not to pester her, besides, she had more questions. "Why didn't Manny choose me as a guardian right before the modern time war? Why bother time traveling? I was an immortal before I met you."

"Elsa... You weren't immortal back then."

"What?" she exclaimed with a deep scowl on her face. She tilted her head to indicate her perplexity. "I died in Ahtohallan, then was brought back to life when Anna saved Northuldra."

"That's your assumption, which is quite logical. You came back to life, yes, but you did not become immortal that day, Elsa." Katherine insisted in a composed manner. "You become immortal when you said three basic words in the War of the North."

Elsa did not feel confused at Katherine's argument... Quite the opposite, she somehow discovered the answer thanks to her friend. She raised her chin, her elegant posture truly made her look like a queen. " _Don't hurt him_." she announced those three words confidently.

"Exactly," she nodded in agreement, "Manny made you immortal when you attempted to protect Pitch. Elsa you... Even though he had done so many unacceptable things, even though he hurt all of us, you still... cared for him."

"I do not care for Pitch." Elsa retorted, her voice was harsh and furious. "I..." she desperately searched for the right words, nonetheless, her voice trailed off.

Elsa's anger ceased all of a sudden, her expression became dull. "If Hans didn't save my life, I would never have the chance to be immortal..." The platinum blonde turned her head sharply and sighed in frustration, it was an attempt to get Hans of her head. "I have another question, it will sound selfish." she mumbled promptly.

"Go on."

"Why... Why did you leave?"

"You mean, why did Jack leave you?"

Elsa did not respond, regardless, the crestfallen, ashamed look on her face was enough.

"Jack didn't belong to that time. There were to many unknowns. We did not know what would happen if Jack was stuck in your timeline, maybe it would change the whole future, which meant that perhaps he would never be able to defeat Pitch and become a guardian. He had to continue his path alone... Just like all of us did."

"How did you find me? After 172 years, I was pretty positive that we would never meet again."

"Weeks ago, when Manny choose you as a guardian, I finally remembered you. That day is the very same the day when we were so close to losing against the Dark Lord and Pitch. The very same day, Manny teleported us to your time. We won the War of the North and went back to our time in just one day."

"So all those months in 1847... It was equivalent to just one day of 2019."

"Exactly. After I finally remembered you, I told Jack about you... He was the one who found you. He said that he heard the voice of a siren, which led us to the Enchanted Forest."

Elsa paled visibly at the mention of his name, her eyes filled with anguish.

172 years... It meant a single day for him. She waited for him 172 years and yet, he didn't even know who she was.

"I need to sit down."

"Elsa, look, Jack loves you, okay? He may not remember you, but that doesn't mean that he gives up on you." Katherine strived to soothe her friend, she instantly understood why her mood was so low.

"We have to find Pitch and the Dark Lord. Once we take them down, I... I need a break, I need to get away from all of this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like it? Feel free to criticize, I am always open to constructive reviews. See ya soon, love ya all!


	21. Jackson Overland

He stood in front of North's office, his blue eyes were gazing at the wooden door with a hint of skepticism. His arm was raised and his fist was ready to knock on the door... However, for some unknown reason, he couldn't let himself take action.

Would Elsa and Katherine be annoyed at him if he interrupted their conversation? Not that he cared, he had the ability of irritating people all the time, but North kindly requested everyone not to interference with the two women, who seemed to have a crucial conversation at the moment.

What was he doing here in the first place? He found himself standing at the door simply because he had this urge, this impulse to spend time with... Elsa.

If you asked Jack how to describe Elsa, 'extraordinary and intriguing' were the first two words that reached his mind. Elsa was remarkably an extraordinary and intriguing woman.

When he first met her, she seemed very cool and pleased, but later when Jack found her leaning against a tree, he quickly realized the grief and the agony in her eyes. Despite this, the young woman had suppressed her emotions in an eyeblink. Elsa was definitely a confident, unshakable person and even though Jack has just met her, he understood her characteristic traits due to how she behaved like a true queen.

Elsa was extraordinary and intriguing because clearly, she had a very mysterious past, she shared the same powers as Jack and yet, they have never met before, which was quite odd.

Jack simply possessed the desire to get to know her. He felt like... He felt like he needed to. Why? He had no idea but that didn't matter, he just accepted and trusted his guts.

So, when the door was opened, his friendliest, hugest grin appeared and he did not attempt to hide his excitement that he felt due to seeing her. "Hey Elsa!" he greeted her warmly.

Nonetheless, the platinum blonde-haired woman in front of him did not seem that much pleased to see him, with a scowl on her face, she glared at Jack sternly. "Were you eavesdropping on us?" she reprimanded him directly, causing him to turn to a deep shade of red.

Sensing the hotness on his cheeks, he swallowed as he shook his head. He mentally made a facepalm, he probably seemed like he was lying. "O-Of course not!" he cried out in denial because he really wasn't secretly listening to them, he had no such an intention. "I came here because... I was going to suggest spending some time together." he blurted out truthfully.

Elsa tilted her head towards left, she gestured him to continue. Meanwhile, Katherine, who was standing right next to her and witnessing their interaction, let out an amused chuckle under her breath. She was obviously enjoying this, Jack couldn't blame her, it was not often that he got embarrassed... Why did he feel like this anyway?

"You told me you were invisible to people, I can help with that." he spoke smoothly, he did his best to sound sure of himself.

He was pretty confident of his statement, even when Elsa's jaw opened partly and her eyes widened. Jack did not know how many years she spent without proper human interaction, but he knew that would end soon. After all, Elsa had never met Jamie before.

The response, however, was quite unexpected.

"Not right now. Katherine needs to talk with you and the other guard-"

"Oh, Elsa, you should definitely go!" Katherine cut her off and chirped with an enormous grin on her face.

He was taken aback from Elsa's statement, thankfully Katherine helped him to cover his puzzlement. Jack didn't know Katherine was capable of speaking in that much of a cheerful tone, but he'd rather not question her strange attitude right now.

"Yes," he agreed with his best friend, "It is of course up to you, but I am sure you will enjoy meeting Jamie, I am certain that I can convince him to believe in you." he said with an attempt to keep a carefree attitude.

She eventually, nodded silently to indicate that she agreed.

With a bright grin on his face, he pulled out the snow globe form his hoodie's pocket and showed it to her. "This is a snow globe... North lent me a couple of them so that I can teleport." he gave a short explanation when her eyebrows were knitted together in bewilderment.

He did not waste his time, he immediately shook the snow globe as he whispered their destination, then he tossed it to the floor.

When the portal appeared in an eyeblink, Jack stretched out his hand to Elsa. "You're coming?" he asked nonchalantly with a beam on his face, but from the inside, he had to admit, he was feeling a bit nervous.

Thankfully, she didn't back down from her decision and held his hand as her gaze was darted at the portal.

Without hesitation, they simultaneously stepped into the portal, leaving the Guardian of Storytelling alone.

Neither of them saw the fond, content smile on Katherine's face.

* * *

"Elsa?" he asked when he couldn't feel her presence next to him. He turned around and lowered his gaze, found himself staring at an annoyed young woman, whose arms were crossed together.

"Just because I have similar powers as you does not mean that I also have the ability to fly." the platinum blonde muttered grumpily.

"Oh, sorry." Jack retorted as he sent her an apologetic and cute smile, then he leaped off the roof and landed on the ground. "May I?" he inquired politely and extended his hand, she let him wrap his one arm around her waist.

Jack took off, he made a soft land once again on Jamie's window. Elsa immediately broke the contact and wrapped her arms around herself without taking a glance at him. He stood there awkwardly, for some reason, he felt hurt from her action.

Jack decided to ignore his messy emotions, he rested his eyes on the window. Jamie was sitting in front of his desk, he was obviously studying. The Spirit of Winter smiled to himself, there was a deep scowl on Jamie's face, he was clearly bored and irked.

He pushed the window, as always, it was unlocked. He entered Jamie's room quietly, followed by Elsa.

"Hey Jamie!" he shouted as loud as possible, caused the young man, who was listening to music, hopped from his seat.

Jamie removed his earphones, glared at him with a furious flicker on his brown eyes. "Jack! You scared the hell out of me!" he shrieked whereas Jack was snickering in amusement.

"That was the goal." he retorted smoothly, but then, his devilish smirk fainted. "Jamie. I want you to meet someone." he got straight to the point, quite seriously.

His friend's anger rather promptly, he furrowed his eyebrows in perplexity. "Who?" he asked curiously.

"There is a young woman, standing right next to me," he began to speak, his gaze was locked his best friend, "She can manipulate ice and snow, just like me. She is the Snow Queen, she is not just a fairy tale, she is real."

Jamie's eyes grew bigger, he was blinking rapidly. Did he see her?

"The Snow Queen? She is not evil? She is here?" Jamie questioned him one after the other.

Apparently, he was just shocked at Jack's words. The Spirit of Winter bobbed his head in disagreement. "She is not evil, Jamie. She is a kind, a very good-hearted woman." he mumbled, he felt Elsa's gaze on him but he averted his eyes away from her.

"I can't see her... What does she look like?"

"I..." Jack's voice trailed off. "She has a slender figure. She has a silky platinum blonde hair that is in a French braid." he described her by memory.

However, than, he let out a small sigh and he whirled his gaze on Elsa, who was staring at him intensely. "She..." he said, his eyes were examining her features now, "She has these huge blue eyes that I've never seen anything like them before. She seems cold and emotionless, however, you can easily see the tenderness in her eyes. She is almost inhuman. She is like an angel you can only dream of but never have the opportunity to see in real life." he blurted out before he could comprehend he was rambling, his entire face was burning, he knew he was flushed.

"Wow" Jamie breathed out, he obviously marveled at Jack's explanation.

"Can you see her now?" Jack questioned him hastily in order to avoid his embarrassment.

"I am sorry," he apologized and shook his head, he sounded frustrated. "I still can't see the Snow Queen."

"Oh." he said, didn't attempt to disguise his crestfallen face. Maybe he could start a snowball fight? Maybe Jamie would see Elsa when he understood that Jack wasn't the only one who could create a snowball.

He didn't have the chance to proceed with his plan, however.

He discerned the blue glint from the corner of his eyes, he directed his gaze at Elsa's hands, where the glow came from.

She was holding an ice sculpture.

He squinted as he analyzed the sculpture. There were two boys, one was holding a staff, he had his hoodie on. The other one, who was shorter, was staring at the other... It was Jamie and him.

"Jack Frost... You are the one who supported Jamie no matter what, you are the one who reduced his stress, you encouraged him to stand up to his bullies, you cheered him up whenever he felt upset... Jamie Bennett cares for you, he respects and admires you. He never admitted out loud, neither did you... He loves you as if you are his big brother." the Snow Queen proclaimed, her voice was warm, so was the tiny smile on her lips.

"Elsa Arendelle."

Jack and Elsa simultaneously turned their attention on Jamie, who has just announced her name with a whisper. Jamie was looking at them with wide eyes, he was completely fascinated.

Elsa shuddered as she gasped in surprise. "Hello Jamie." she greeted him, she sounded calm and steady but Jack could hear the hint of enthusiasm in her voice. Her blue eyes were glimmering with pure happiness.

Jamie approached her, he was clearly still amazed. He poked Elsa's arm with his index finger and caused the woman to chuckle. He rapidly looked at Jack, his eyes were filled with astonishment. "Jack, I can see her!"

"Oh really? I didn't realize." he replied sarcastically with a toothy grin on his face.

"Who did you meet? How come I didn't meet her before?" Jamie exclaimed excitedly, maiking both of them giggle.

"It is late, Jamie." Jack responded calmly. "I'll explain later. You need to rest now."

"Oh come on!"

"As much as it is a pleasure to meet you, Jack is right." Elsa rooted for him. She then offered Jamie a genuine smile that could melt anyone's heart as she handed him the ice sculpture.

Jamie didn't speak afterward, which meant that he was willing to obey them. So, Jack and Elsa headed towards the window, they bid their goodbyes to the young man.

Elsa halted before she was about to leave the room, she stared at her believer one last time. "The love you feel for your family, friends... Your heart is full of love, it is so strong and pure. Never lose that, alright? Even when it hurts you, never give up on love."

Jack did not know why she said that and what she meant, but somehow, he knew, those words were needed to be said.

* * *

He wasn't planning on bringing her here. And yet, here they were, sitting in front of the frozen lake, watching the view with a comfortable silence.

Jack visited this lake whenever he needed to think alone, even though he died here, it always somehow soothed him.

"How did you know?" he asked with a hushed tone, his gaze was locked on the frozen water.

"Know what?"

"I didn't know Jamie saw me as a brother. I mean sure, we've been always really good friends..."

"I have no idea how. It is just... I simply understand who people love when I look at their eyes, I know why they value that person. You and Jamie have such a strong friendship, just like you and the rest of the guardians. It is clear from the way you look at each other." she answered with a ponderous tone.

He turned his head to see her... The moonlight was caressing her features, she seemed tranquil but also sad, pensive at the same time. She was absolutely breathtaking.

"I am sorry." he muttered from the bottom of his heart. "I am sorry for whatever happened to you. You deserve to be happy."

"How do you know?"

"I don't have the ability to see your loved ones when I look at your eyes. Regardless, I can see the sorrow in your eyes. I know, I just know you are a good-hearted person who lost a lot."

Her depressed blue eyes were directed at him, they were full of... integrity. She looked soft and timid, he couldn't help but stare at her in awe. For a brief moment, she let her guards down and he was baffled by how accessible she seemed, but her posture stiffened so quickly. He wanted to comfort her but he didn't know how.

"I am sorry too," Elsa announced with a hushed whisper. "I don't mean to take a hard line with you. You remind me of someone I used to love someone so dearly... It hurts."

He didn't know what to say, but his heart was full of sympathy. He did not know what she has been through, but he understood... They weren't so different after all.

"I... I loved a young man. He was the best person I've ever met. He understood me and accepted me for who I am. One day... he left me, he had to." she proceeded to tell him her story. "I did everything to get him over, I dated a couple of people and tried to fall in love with them, I tried to focus on my sister and her children in order to avoid remembering him... No matter what I did, the pain didn't go away and I couldn't forget him. No matter what I did, I could never stop loving him."

She swallowed as she bit her bottom lip hardly, she was trembling. "At least my sister and my friends were there for me. However, as the years passed by, they got older and I remained the same. When my sister Anna died... I just couldn't cope with my grief. I shut everyone down. People who once saw me, Anna's children and grandchildren, my whole family... I became invisible to them because I isolated myself. When I understood no one remembered me, I decided to spend the rest of eternity in the Enchanted Forest... I don't know why I am telling you all this, I apologize if I bothered you."

She opened her heart to him, just like that.

"I too had a sister." he mumbled with a reserved, bitter smile on his face. "Her name was Emma. We were ice skating on this lake, hundreds of years ago." he narrated his story as he gestured at the frozen pond.

"The ice under Emma cracked but I managed to save her. That day, I died because I fell into the lake. When I woke up, the Man in the Moon told me that my name was Jack Frost... I spent three hundred years only knowing my name. No one has ever seen me, I was just nobody. Then I met the guardians, defeated the enemy, gained back my memories... I remembered I was Jackson Overland before I became Jack Frost."

"Jackson Overland... I like that name." she mumbled, she seemed more relaxed now and she was softer, more affectionate. "You deserve to be happy too, Jackson. You've been lonely for a long time, longer than me."

"You aren't alone anymore, Elsa. You have me. I promise, I won't ever leave you."

"I wish we could have met earlier." she whispered gently.

"We do know each other now. That's what matters."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two chapters left, then the story is finished! But of course, I am already planning another story... I should begin writing. I hope you all liked the chapter! Please leave a review, love ya all!


	22. The Guardian Of...

"Come, my darling, homeward bound

When all is lost, then all is found..."

"You will be a great guardian."

She has already been blushing, she averted her eyes away from her while she was silently praying that her cheeks weren't crimson red.

"I doubt that." she eventually said, her tone was hushed and timid. "I am not the type of person who is capable of leading others to the right path. I am... lost. The Man in the Moon should choose someone more experienced, who knows what they are doing... I don't even know what my center is." Elsa mumbled under her breath frankly.

The Fifth Spirit shifted nervously, a part of her wanted to get out from that house, but the other part of her wanted to stay because the presence of Tooth and the child was quite... soothing.

The half-hummingbird fairy did not say anything, instead, she tilted her to look at the infant, who was sleeping peacefully on her bed.

Elsa indeed felt alleviated by the sight of an innocent child, whose sleep was adorned in lovely dreams. Thanks to this innocent, heart-melting sight, she felt as if the world was a beautiful place, as if pain, disappointment, greed and fear had never existed, as if nothing had ever been wrong. All that mattered was this moment, that this child was happy.

"Elsa... Of course you can't always know what the right way is. It's not about that anyway. The important thing is to be there for them at all times and to support them no matter what. If you do that... All the children around the world will have someone, who guards them." Tooth eventually answered, she was staring at the child with ponderous eyes.

"How are you certain that I am capable of fulfilling that duty? You don't know me."

The Tooth Fairy turned her head and rested her pink eyes on the Snow Queen, there was a small, but a bright smile on her face. "You are right... I don't know you. But I can easily see the love in your eyes when you look at this child who you don't even know."

* * *

"Why don't you kill me now?"

"Young lady, why don't you kill me now?"

Pitch Black was... interesting.

She remembered their first meeting vividly. She was walking in the dark hallways with Jack, they were trying to find the enemy. Meanwhile, he was casually sitting on his throne, waiting for them to reach the throne room.

His attitude was bored, cool and arrogant. He offered them tea as if he wasn't the very same guy who killed half of Einstök and kidnapped the other half, then tortured the rest of the villagers.

When they first met... She instantly felt strained because of him, he even lowkey scared her. Nevertheless, in time, she somehow got accustomed to him.

"Do you know what it feels like to have everything you care about to be taken away from you? To long for a... family... You and I are not so different, Elsa. We are both misunderstood... A monster. That's what they think we are. That's what they think we ever will be."

172 years ago, he begged her to help him. He pleaded her to understand him, to emphasize with him. And what did she do? She thought herself superior, she raised her chin and looked down on him. She told him how disgusting he was, out of all people, she, even though she was accused of being one, she told him he was a monster.

What did he do? Let alone tormenting her and then murdering her, he saved her life. He saved her from the Nightmare Man as known as the Dark Lord, choking her to death. He attempted to injure his own ally in order to protect her.

Of course, he has undeniably made so many unacceptable things. He was the King of Nightmares, he murdered Nightlight, he tried to kill Sandy, he hurt a lot of other people.

But was he a monster? To the children, to the guardians, especially to Katherine, he was indeed one. However, to Elsa...

"I woke up in a pile of dirt and found out that my daughter was dead... I saved the whole country but what's the point? She is not here now!"

To Elsa, he was a father, who had lost his daughter, who was in great pain. To Elsa, he was a misunderstood man who was confused, aggravated and... lost.

In time, she had made empathy towards him, she tried to understand his motives, his reasoning, she sympathized with him because... Pitch Black and Elsa Arendelle weren't that different.

He too was misunderstood, he too longed for a family, hence, they shared the very same fear, being alone for the rest of the eternity.

"You will not hurt him, understood? No one will harm a single hair on his head. Today, our enemy is the Dark Lord, not Pitch." the Fifth Spirit warned the guardians with a serious manner, there was a determined scowl on her face.

Katherine basically gave no explanation to the guardians, if she had told them why they were fighting against the Dark Lord, she would have had to clarify what had happened in the first place and that was... Well, both she and Elsa doubted the guardians could digest that easily. So many incidents had happened and their memories were erased, it was better not to explain. The truth would result in only confusing them more.

Elsa suggested Katherine that maybe Tooth could help them, she was the Guardian of Memories after all. But the Guardian of Storytelling insisted that it would be no use, since Tooth had no idea about what had occurred, she couldn't find the missing memories and help the others to remember.

In the end, Katherine contended with telling the guardians that a demon-like creature named the Dark Lord was controlling Pitch and he had to be stopped immediately. Elsa added that they shouldn't hurt Pitch at all costs. The guardians were taken aback by her statement but they didn't cause a scene, except for Bunny. Nevertheless, when Elsa stubbornly stressed her words, he ultimately shut up.

So, here they were, all the guardians plus Elsa, standing next to a broken wooden bed, glancing at the dark, wide hole on the ground.

"Stay on guard." Katherine mumbled under her breath, as always, she was unreadable with those steady gray eyes.

"I was planning to throw a party and get drunk, mate." Bunny grunted sarcastically, his arms were crossed together.

When Katherine sent him an unimpressed and extremely ominous glare, he avoided her and dropped his grumpy attitude. Elsa felt lucky that she didn't get on her bad side... Katherine could be really scary when she wanted to.

One by one, all the guardians jumped down from the hole...

"Do you want me to hold you?" Jack offered politely, they were the last ones.

She couldn't help but curse under her breath for not being able to fly, it would be a lot easier if he assisted her. Still, that damn Storyteller, she immediately jumped into the hole with Tooth before giving Elsa a chance to request the fairy to help her.

"Sure." she replied curtly.

His hand slid into her body, then he pulled her towards himself and wrapped his arm around her tightly. She did her best not to shiver at the touch... It pained her. She felt a lot of emotions, she spent years of missing him, imagining his touch and now, it was too much because to him, this meant nothing. To him, she was just a stranger.

"Ready?"

"Let's do this." she declared confidently, she realized that Jack's grasp on his staff tightened, he did that whenever he felt he was in danger...

Together, they leaped into the hole.

* * *

"I've been in this place before... Follow me." Jack commanded them with a stiff tone, he has already been directing the group.

Pitch's lair was... just as expected. It was an enormous underground base, everything, the stairs, the bridges, the walls, they were either black or gray. It gave the impression as if daylight had never entered this place.

Elsa couldn't help but wonder... He lived here. He lived in this dusty and dirty cave-like place who knows how long. This inhuman habitat wasn't adequate even for an immortal man like him. It was too depressing for a living soul. Sure, he was the Boogeyman, according to the common belief, he hid under the bed, nonetheless, Elsa had hoped this myth wasn't real.

Living here for the rest of eternity... Even the thought of it was enough to give her goosebumps. Once again, she couldn't help but feel sympathy towards him.

Elsa had to shut her eyes down when they met the unexpected sunlight, the contact dazzled her but soon enough, they adopted to the light.

The first thing that caught her interest was the grayish-black globe. Just like North's the globe, it showed believers all around the world. But while North's globe made her fascinated, this one admittedly creeped her out. Soon after, her eyes caught the glimpse of hundreds of cages, which were hanged on the ceiling.

When Elsa's eyes finally found what she should have been noticing in the first place, her previous thoughts didn't matter anymore.

She couldn't recall how she reacted when she first saw that sight. Maybe her eyes went wider in terror, maybe she brought her hands to her mouth and suppressed her scream, or maybe she just watched in a dull manner. Either way, in the blink of an eye, she found himself by his side.

Pitch Black was lying unconscious on the cold, hard floor, his mouth was covered in dry blood.

"Pitch!" she screamed whereas she was nudging the Boogeyman harshly to wake him up.

Before she knew what was going on, Elsa found herself thrown to the ground, the sudden pain struck her body. The guardians have already been attacking Pitch, who was battling back fiercely with a black, lengthy scythe.

Pitch's eyes... They weren't golden. They are hollow and white, they were the most horrifying, the most dreadful Elsa has ever seen. The Dark Lord... He was there, inside Pitch, he was in charge of his body.

"I am not a monster, young lady."

He had said this to her 172 years ago... 172 years ago, she strongly disagreed with him, she thought he was a monster. A monster who imprisoned, tormented, a monster who took many so many innocent lives.

However, now, she was not going to let that demon took control of his body. She knitted her eyebrows, a sensation of determination was making her feel powerful.

The Snow Queen stood up at great speed and shouted as loud as she could. "Pitch! Listen to me! You are not a monster, you hear me? You are not a monster and deep down, I know there is a tiny piece of goodness in your heart! So please, get rid of the real monster that is possessing you!"

"I don't have a heart." he spat out, but he didn't sound like his typical cunning, bored, snarky self. No, he sounded deadly, malignant, his voice was thicker and raspier.

Elsa was just about to respond, but her attention was drawn into something else. Jack flew closer to Pitch from his back, he was going to dismantle him whereas the guardians were distracting him.

"Jack!" she cried out as the man suddenly whirled around...

She was too late.

Her sight went blurry when she discerned the blood on his navy blue hoodie.

Jack stared at Pitch with the beautiful blue eyes that she cherished more than anything, they were puzzled and dull. Then, he fell down into his knees before completely collapsing on the ground.

She strived for going to his side, however, she faced the horrifying fact that her legs were refusing to move, they were shuddering too hard that she found herself sinking to her knees.

She didn't know how to describe the anguish she had felt, she was feeling hazy and numb. It was too much, too much that she had no idea what would be her next move.

"No, Pitch." she found her voice because she had to speak, she had to continue to fight for the sake of her... love. "You have a heart. You still do feel love. I know you do. That's the only thing I am sure of. I know you care about your daughter more than anything. So please, please fight against the Dark Lord."

She whimpered in agony as the man continued to attack the rest of the guardians. He didn't listen to her, what did she expect anyway? Everything was her fault, Jack was dying because of her.

"Hey Pitch!" she heard a familiar voice shrieking with a taunting manner, instantly, she raised her head in disbelief, her eyes were wide open.

Jackson Overland Frost was standing up, his one hand clenched his staff while the other one was applying pressure on his torso, where the Dark Lord and Pitch had wounded him. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, he was smirking.

The beast in Pitch's body turned around, he seemed pissed off. He immediately proceeded with hurling the scythe at Jack whereas the Spirit of Winter was shooting icicles at the man nonstop.

Elsa got up in a blink of an eye, finally decided to utilize her powers so that she could help Jack. She created ice walls to trap Pitch, silently praying that would be enough to distract him. She really didn't want to go violent.

Thankfully, the guardians came to her rescue. Katherine was repeatedly hurling daggers, Bunny was throwing his boomerang at his leg so that it would entangle them. Even though he couldn't succeed, it was still bothersome for Pitch to avoid the boomerangs. North and Tooth were now fighting side by side right next Jack, with their swords.

She felt herself being lifted, she grinned at Sandy when the golden yellow little man flashed her a smile, he was promptly bringing her to the battlefield.

"You can't kill me." Pitch snarled, he was moving backward and backward within each attack that he was receiving from the guardians.

"We are not going to kill you." Jack growled matter-of-factly as he approached the weakened man. "We are going to help you."

Hence, he hurled a strong kick right at Pitch's torso.

Pitch wrapped his arms around himself as he bent in pain, his torso was coated with ice. He tumbled down, he was once again lying in the fetal position.

He hiccuped loudly as his eyes were shut down, he seemed to be losing his consciousness once again. Before he had a complete blackout though, his sealed lips parted and he ultimately... puked the darkness that was eating his soul.

The guardians and Elsa prepared themselves for an incoming attack from the enemy, they were ready for another battle. However... The darkness plainly vanished in front of their eyes.

They stood there in bafflement, everyone was glancing at the spot where the Dark Lord was supposedly there.

"Now what? Did we defeat the Dark Lord?" Bunny raised a question curiously.

"Partly," Katherine answered swiftly. "He is gone for now but not forever. You can't get rid of darkness..." her voice trailed off as her reserved gray eyes shifted to Pitch. "Just like you can never get rid of fear. They are still a part of humans, even of us."

That statement finally brought Elsa back to her senses, she now had the time to take care of Jack and his injury.

She approached him hastily without trying to hide her apprehension. "Jack! Don't worry, you will be fine!" she shrieked as she took a closer look at his wound that he was still applying pressure on,

"Elsa."

"How do you feel? You must sit down and not spend your energy!"

"Elsa." he spoke out her name softly once again, caused her to finally stare at his blue eyes, they were sparkling with amusement. "I am fine. Immortal, remember? It takes more than one wound to kill me."

She rapidly wiped her tears away, she didn't want to bawl like a baby in front of him. Yet, here she was, sobbing in misery and now, also in relief. She decided to let her guard down for once, her pride wasn't her priority now.

Therefore, she crashed him into a desperate hug, she was clinging to his body, letting the sensation of his skin overwhelm her. Jack didn't respond to the embrace, so she attempted to pull away, but then, she felt his arms clutching her tightly.

"Oi! Stop making out! We are leaving!"

The two immortals broke the contact, Elsa could see the crimson red blush on Jack's cheeks, still, that didn't stop him from insulting Bunny. "Shut up Kangaroo!"

She narrowed her eyes as she got on the sled, Pitch was laying unconscious next to Katherine, who was refusing to look at him, she had a blank expression on her face.

"We are also taking him?" Jack asked what Elsa was exactly wondering.

"We can't just leave him... Even if he is a monster, as Elsa said, he is not our enemy today." Katherine replied curtly, her tone was apathetic and rigid.

Everyone quietened after that, except for North, who was urging on the reindeer. They all tried to enjoy the silence while they were traveling on Santa's sledge.

"Are you still doubting that you are not qualified enough to be a guardian?" Tooth blurted out, resulted in attracting attention to herself.

Steadily, the Guardians of Childhood rested their gazes on the seventh guardian that the Man in the Moon has chosen.

The Snow Queen's lips moved delicately, a sweet, peaceful and content smile spread across her face. She examined her friends one by one, her blue eyes were glimmering with...

Love.

"I suppose, I can't say no."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fandom: I hate Pitch
> 
> Me: He is a baby boy, you can't change my mind.
> 
> The entire chapter is about me, fangirling over Pitch and I am not even sorry.
> 
> I hope you all liked the chapter, only one more left! Please leave a review, love ya all!


	23. The War of the North

Two elves were playing their trumpets enthusiastically, it was impressing how loud their fanfare sounded as they had such a small size.

"Are you ready?" North asked with his usual joyful self while he was opening the large, thick book that a yeti has just brought him.

Elsa let out a shaky, nervous sigh, her heart was fluttering faster due to her excitement. "Yes," she replied, she was grinning from ear to ear.

North was turning the pages slowly, when he finally found the page he was searching, he offered her his hugest grin to calm her down, which she really appreciated.

"Will you, Elsa Arendelle, vow to watch over the children of the world, to guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes and their dreams for they are all that we have, all that we are and all that we will ever be?"

She could feel her eyes brimming with tears because as she looked at her friends one by one, North, Tooth, Sandy, Bunny, Katherine and Jack... Their eyes were filled with happiness and warmth, she could feel that they were all proud of her.

Jack closed his eyes and then reopened them, he nodded his head slightly to indicate that he... wanted her to be one of them.

"I will. I promise, I'll always be there for children and I'll always protect them." she took her oath with a serious manner, she was relieved that her voice didn't tremble.

"Then, congratulations, Elsa Arendelle, for you are now," North shut the book down as he rapidly opened his arms to both sides. "And forevermore, a guardian... The Guardian of Love."

She was now officially a part of their group, she was a guardian.

The Guardian of Love opened her mouth to speak to express her gratitude, she wanted to tell the fellow guardians that she would do her best to fulfill her duty. However, before she could give her speech, an unexpected event arose.

Jack, North, Sandy, Tooth and Bunny, all of the guardians except her and Katherine groaned in pain simultaneously, their eyes were shut down as they placed their hand on their heads with clenched teeth.

"Are you alright?" she shrieked, she could feel her heart beating faster due to her panic. She extended her arm out towards North to check his condition since he was the nearest person to her.

"Guys?!" she screamed anxiously when no one answered, they were still obviously in great pain. Elsa promptly rested her gaze on Katherine, who was observing their friends with an unreadable expression on her face. "Katherine? What's going on?"

Katherine seemed as if she has fallen into a trance, regardless, she was able to come to her senses when Elsa called out her name. Her blank expression changed to a ponderous one, her gray eyes slowly shifted on Elsa, thus, they got warmer.

Her response was short, simple and too good to be true. "They are recalling their memories, my dear friend."

A shaky sigh came out of her breath, in fact, her whole body was probably shuddering, her throat went dry. But it didn't matter at all, the important thing was... Elsa hurriedly turned her head and darted her eyes at the man she loved and did not remember her.

The Spirit of Winter was staring at her, his eyes were brimmed with tears, he did not strive to stop a teardrop when it escaped from the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Snowflake."

Her hands immediately went to her mouth as a loud hiccup left her lips, her blue eyes were fully open. Years... 172 years have passed away and finally, finally they were reunited.

"Really?" she asked sarcastically while she was trying to hold her sobs, "That's the best you could come up with?" she teased him, but her voice was hoarse instead of playful and jovial.

"What would you like me to say?" he replied cheekily as he came closer, his arms have already been wrapped around her body.

She clutched him and buried her face in his neck, she simply enjoyed herself whereas she was breathing his scent that always soothed her. For nearly two hundred years, she have imagined this moment over and over but now, everything she had planned to say was no longer important. He, her Jackson was finally with her.

"I love you." she breathed out and confessed her love, she couldn't help but plant an affectionate kiss at the tip of his jaw.

"I love you too." he instantly responded back without uncertainty, then, he brought their lips closer... The two lovers finally began to kiss each other, they both smiled as they sensed each other, they were fully reconnected.

"Am I the only one who wants to puke?" Bunny blurted out, caused everyone to send him a death glare but Jack and Elsa paid him no mind, they were still pressing their lips against each other passionately.

"I mean, of course I am happy that those two lovesick are finally together. But, are we going to ignore that Jack and I were... brothers?!"

Jack broke the kiss rapidly, he cringed in disgust as placed his one arm around his stomach. "I gotta throw up."

"Way to kill the mood, Aster." Tooth grumbled and smacked at his head whereas the others, including Elsa, were watching the two traumatized guardians in pure amusement.

Eventually, she got a bit bored of watching Bunny and Jack, bickering and assaulting at each other, saying that they would rather die than being brothers.

"Why now?" she couldn't help but wonder out loud, "Why did they receive their memories now?" she raised a question at Katherine, who was standing right next to her.

The answer came from Tooth.

"How could we remember you if you didn't believe in yourself in the first place?" the Guardian of Memories mumbled with a genuine, knowing grin on her face.

* * *

The room wasn't exactly bright, she had a hardship on seeing easily due to the lack of the light, nonetheless, she was able to discern a lot of things such as the furniture and the fact that... Pitch was definitely not resting on his bed.

"I don't understand... After all the things I have done, why don't you fear me? Why don't you hate me?"

Elsa turned around to face the King of Nightmares, whose arms were crossed together from his behind, who had such an emotionless expression on his face.

"I've been controlled by fear for a very long time. Then... I found love. I learned how to love myself and others. I now have the strength to fight against fear and I certainly don't need hate."

There was a pause.

"That's a stupid answer." he eventually retorted with an uncharacteristically husky voice, he almost sounded... confused. She could easily notice that as she stared right into his golden-yellow eyes.

"I don't hate you Pitch." she admitted easily. "I... I never did. Not even truly when you killed Sandy, not even when I found out that you traumatized Katherine by killing Nighlight. When I look at you, I..." her voice trailed off, was reluctant to continue.

"You what?"

"I see myself. A different version of me, still, I see myself." she confessed the truth that she has been hiding for a long time.

"Emily Jane." he blurted out quietly.

"Huh?"

"My daughter... Her name was Emily Jane Pitchiner." he explained, then slowly broke their gaze and locked his eyes into the darkness as he turned his head away from her. "You... You remind me of her."

Elsa blinked repeatedly and then shut her eyes down, her mind went blank whereas she was striving to digest his words. When she grasped what he had said, she opened her eyes and found herself looking at the darkness. He was long gone.

"Thank you, Pitch." she whispered in the darkness with a barely audible tone, knowing very well that he would hear her.

* * *

_**~10 years later~** _

"Jack!" the platinum blonde-haired woman cried out her boyfriend's name, then she couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Can you please wait for a little?"

The snow-white haired man seemed like he was about to stop, but then he didn't, he was practically running. "Nope! You said didn't want to fly so you have to walk fast, princess!"

"Jackson Overland Frost!" she shrieked behind him, but she complied by starting to run to keep up with his speed.

As he ultimately slowed down, she was panting and trying to catch her breath. Jack was too enthusiastic to feel tired, but to Elsa, it was the opposite. She didn't know where they were going and he was still intending to keep it as a secret, honestly, she was getting a bit annoyed. They have been walking in a small forest-like place that was near to Burgess, Elsa would have enjoyed the pleasing view of nature, if her boyfriend hasn't been acting odd.

Nonetheless, when he stretched out his arm and gently pulled her to his side, the warm sensation swelled in her heart instantly, she reacted to the contact by caressing skin.

"You know that I love you, right? More than anyone else I've ever loved." he murmured as they embraced each other, he was holding her so tightly.

Jack's insecurity was truly sweet and adorable, but it was unnecessary. She beamed at him without hiding her fondness, then she planted a kiss on his cheek and nodded in agreement. "I know. I love you too."

"Great, awesome, perfect. Cause it would have been really weird if you declined what I am about to do, I really really love you by the way, like, a lot and I know it is cheesy of me to say but I still want to say that I am so sure that my love for you will last forever because you are an amazing person and-"

"Jack. Just propose to me."

"W-What?" he exclaimed in utter shock, his jaw dropped on the ground as his eyes went wide.

A chuckle escaped from her lips, it was genuinely amusing to witness that he was actually baffled. "You are not exactly the best at keeping secrets away from me. I've realized you were up to something. It didn't take me long to figure out that you wanted to propose... You were so oblivious, Jack."

"Did someone tell you?" he asked hastily, which caught Elsa by surprise.

"No. Who knows about this?" she interrogated him curiously.

"Erm," he stuttered out as he ran a hand through his hair. "I needed a little advice, okay?"

"Jack."

"Jamie, North, Sandy, Tooth and Katherine."

A deep frown formed on her face as she sent a questioning glance at her boyfriend. Jack immediately understood that she was curious about their reaction, so he proceeded to explain.

"Jamie helped me with the ring, North gave me the tightest hug that would surely kill me if I was mortal, then he has told me his love story for hours. Sandy, being the sane person he is, calmly congratulated me, Tooth, well, she got too excited so you know, she has been planning our wedding for months now."

"Oh." she let out because what else could she say to this? She admittedly was bewildered... Regardless, their friends' behaviors were anticipated.

"What about Katherine?" she couldn't help but wonder, "Let me guess, you wanted to use her powers for the perfect proposal." she presumed, knowing very well that she was right.

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"Give me the details."

_-flashback-_

_"Katherine!" the Winter Spirit cried out his friend's name joyfully and enthusiastically._

_"What do you want?" the woman snarled without turning her head to look at him, she was busy with cleaning her beloved goose, Kailash's fur._

_"Why do you assume I want something? I just wanted to greet my best friend, the most awesome person-"_

_"Jack, you occasionally greet me by Mother Goose because you think I get annoyed, which is quite idiotic since I like really that name and I love goose. Besides, I know you want to ask me how can you propose to Elsa. I can predict the near future, I am the story-"_

_"-Teller, yeah we get it, you know everything, jeez. Now, can you please tell me how can I make the best proposal?"_

_"You don't want my opinion. You want to know what your future self will do."_

_"Yeah, that's pretty obvious."_

_"I won't tell you. I think you should figure that out by yourself."_

_"You decline my request just to make things harder for me, right?"_

_"Oh yes, definitely, one hundred percent. I love watching you suffer."_

_"...I hate you."_

_"If you want my personal advice... Just propose. I don't think a big romantic jest is necessary. You love her more than anything, that's what matters and she knows that."_

_"Wow, thanks for the help." he replied sarcastically and then, rolled his eyes._

_Katherine turned her head, her gray eyes were starting at him with an evident... fondness. This was quite odd since she has hardly ever shown how much she appreciated him, she usually did her best to act as if she was irritated._

_"Anytime, jackass."_

_-flashbacks ends-_

"She is right, you know. I think, as always, she has given the wisest answer. I don't need a fancy proposal... I already feel complete thanks to you. You make me really happy. There is no need to be anxious about, I want to marry you, Jackson."

"Oh my god Elsa, let me propose first! I worked really hard for this!" he exclaimed loudly, the look on his face showed that hewas clearly crestfallen she had found out the surprise.

Jack was never a perfectionist, nevertheless, he put so much effort into making the perfect proposal just for her. Even though she liked teasing the Guardian of Fun himself, she did feel bad for him, so she decided to comply.

When they reached their destination, she was so glad that she did.

It was a simple and definitely a heartwarming sight. The meadow was covered with colorful, patterned Eastern eggs, children from different ages were collecting them. It was truly a bliss to witness happy kids running around the multicolored flowers, playing games and enjoying their time in such a peaceful place.

"You even requested Bunny's help?" she marveled, she leaned down to pick a small, snowflake patterned eastern egg.

"I have to give Kangaroo a credit, he helped me a lot with decoration." he admitted whereas he was nodding in agreement.

"Why this place?" she inquired quietly, she was still watching the children.

When she turned her attention to him, she found herself staring at her lover who was on his knees. He was holding out a tiny, breathtaking snowflake-shaped ring with both hands. She had foreseen this, nonetheless, her eyes have already been brimming with tears.

"Snowflake, every second I spend with you is the best gift for me. Every day, the more I get to know you, the more I fall in love with you. And yes, I know that's very sappy, but I really feel that way." he began to talk calmly whereas she was trying to hold herself not to jump into his arms. She wanted him to continue with his speech.

"I chose this place to propose to you because... Look at these kids, Elsa. I know you've always wanted a child, but you can never biologically have one and that pains you so much. Still, that doesn't mean you can't have a child. The kids playing over there, are all orphans. I... I think, we can be the parents of these children by protecting them and loving them unconditionally. Together, in a sense, we can be the parents of every child in the world. Of course, if you want that... Elsa Arendelle... Will you marry me?"

Unable to control herself any longer, Elsa threw herself at him before he could stand up. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and tenderly crushed her lips on his.

"Yes. Jackson Overland Frost, I will make you."

* * *

Katherine Shalazar smiled to herself.

For hundreds of years, the Guardian of Storytelling told children many various stories. Some of them had magic in them, some of them had enchanting creatures. She told a lot of stories and as the children listened to these stories, they learned new things. Lovers, friends who knocked over mountains for each other, brave heroes and gruesome villains, breathtaking adventures...

Stories, fairy tales, myths, legends, fables... They were the symbols of something extraordinary and yet, beautiful. If it weren't for the children who believed in them with all of their innocent hearts... They all existed because of children, their belief made them real.

The tale of the Snow Queen and the Winter Spirit was no exception.

Once upon a time, there was a young queen. This young queen was no ordinary, she was possessed with amazing powers, she had the ability to manipulate ice and snow. Once upon a time, there was a young shoeless peasant. He was a completely ordinary boy, but he had the warmest heart among all.

One day, the young queen lost her control, people accused her of being a monster. She ran away, simply let her magic go, then saved her kingdom. Years later, when the north wind met the sea, she embarked on a new adventure.

One day, the young man sacrificed himself to save his sister, he fell into an ice-cold lake and gave his last breath. When he woke up, his brown hair and eyes were no longer brown, he now had snow-white hair and blue eyes. Years later, he saved the world from fear with the help of his friends.

Soon, their paths came across, perhaps it was the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, perhaps it was destiny, perhaps it was simply how the story should have gone on.

Either way, the two souls found each other, soon, they discovered that they were made for each other. Throughout their lives, they were alone but now they didn't feel lonely anymore, they someone who understood them.

During their journey, she understood that love was the key, he understood that fun was the key. The Guardian of Love and the Guardian of Fun, they completed each other.

"So, dear readers..." Katherine said with a mysterious glint on her gray eyes, her lips twitched in amusement. "That's the tale of the War of the North and the tale of how two lonely people found each other."

"Huh, what are you saying, Mother Goose?"

"Nothing, Jack," the Storyteller retorted with her usual composed and reserved manner, she brushed his question off while she was still beaming a little mysteriously.

"Nothing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy sweet pancakes, look at this corny and fluffy chapter. I make them suffer a lot but in the end, I always find myself writing the cheesiest ending. Shout out to M.V.P Knight by the way, if they didn't advise me to write an epilogue, I would totally skip the proposal part. I hope you are happy with that cliche scene, my friend.
> 
> Special thanks to M.V.P Knight, Austrian and Nerdynia for their amazing support and wonderful reviews, you guys motivated me a lot, I love you all. Thanks to everyone who left a review, followed/favourited this story, I appreciate that a lot.
> 
> So... another story is finished and another one (let's make it two plus a one-shot) is about to start. I am really nervous, I hope I won't be lazy and I hope you love Western AU's.
> 
> Thank you for reading the War of the North, I honestly had so much fun while writing this. I was thinking of a sequel but I don't think I will actually do it because it would be too much Katherine-centric and less focused on Jelsa.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this story, please leave a review, I am always open to criticism. I love you all, take care!


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